Forgoing the Inevitable
by LaterHosen
Summary: Immediately following ME3's ending, what happens to Shepard? What of the Normandy and her crew? Can the Galaxy stick together after the Reapers are destroyed? A MShep/Miranda story, but will include everyone in the Normandy family, old and new. T for language, sparse as it will be.
1. Last We Saw

**I own nothing, this is just fanfiction based on Bioware's franchise.**

**For reference, this is the default Shepard in name and appearance, a soldier who is Earthborn/War Hero. Ashley and Wrex survived Virmire, everyone survived the Suicide Mission, Mordin/Thane/Legion are the only casualties of ME3. Well, outside of the ending.**

* * *

1: Last We Saw...

Moments ago, there was a choice put before John Shepard. All options were given their various pros and cons, although in his mind the decision was never in doubt, not after what he had gone through the past six months.

As he fired the final rounds from his Carnifex into the Catalyst's systems from across the room, he watched as the rogue AI that claimed to be controlling the Reapers faded away, leaving Shepard to remain at the platform that lifted him up into the edge of the Citadel. His reward for his accuracy was an explosion that engulfed the room, followed by a red wave that caused only pain as it passed through him and continued through the room, possibly the Citadel. Shepard didn't have time to think about it, as the pain became too much, making his mind feel like he it was collapsing in on itself and brought him to his knees, his hands struggling to keep his face from hitting the ground.

He never felt like this before. He has had more rounds hit him than there were ships in the Alliance fleet. He was the recipient of a last ditch napalm attack on Elysium that left a scar on his back that he carried with him all the way up to his death at Alchera. Hell, even his death didn't have this level of pain, it was a walk in the park compared to this.

It was a burning sensation that coursed through his body, the feeling of little fires being lit underneath the muscles. Was this what the Catalyst was referring to should he take the option of destroying the Reapers? As his body seized up and finally succumbed to the floor, he realized that whatever explosions that occurred had stopped, or had started to occur elsewhere in the Citadel.

As he got used to the pain that was in every joint in his body, hoping to simply push through the initial onslaught in an attempt to escape, he wondered if this was sentencing the inhabitants of the Citadel to an immediate death, being at ground zero for a blast that would hopefully end the war with the Reapers. Shepard remembered the three hundred thousand lives he sacrificed in Bahak in order to delay the Reaper arrival, to do that on a scale nearly fifty times that is something he didn't think he would be able to recover from were he to get out of this situation alive.

And the Normandy? What of his ship, his crew, his _family_? He made sure that Garrus and James got into the ship and hopefully far away from Harbinger's attack in London, despite their many protests to see the mission through. He never acknowledged this fact, but he felt that as he led the allied fleets into that final attack on Earth, the frigate truly was his. It was paid in his blood, his sweat, and those of his crewmates. It wasn't the Alliance's, it wasn't Cerberus', it wasn't the Council's.

Joker had once joked, drunkenly, after the Rannoch mission that the "SR" in "SR-2" stood for **S**hepard **R**eaperkiller.

"See? Don't you get it? Because all you do is kill Reapers! And Collectors!" Joker used his hands wildly at this point as he shared shots with Shepard, the Commander trying to hold his laughter at Jeff's clearly inebriated exaggerations.

"If only this was the fourth iteration of the ship, it could be **4**ever! Get it? Four!" Joker waved the four fingers of his hand to Shepard as he tried to get the point across, his face full of inebriated pride with realizing his achievement in name creation.

Corny? Of course, but Shepard liked the joke, and more importantly the earnestness that accompanied it, coming from the one member who was with his crew since the begining, and it always stuck with him after seeing the SR-2 name on the hull upon returning to the ship after every docking.

_I didn't fight this war just to die now_, Shepard thought, _I will __**not **__end up as a forgotten fable just to be offhandedly remembered by future generations_.

As much as it seemed like Shepard was thinking only about himself, and in a way he was, it would have been clear to anyone who had been around him in the last year that there was one woman who he put ahead of everything else in the galaxy: Miranda Lawson. He nearly lost her on Horizon thanks to Kai Leng, and despite reconciling on the Citadel after an attempted assassination by his deranged clone (a clone!), Shepard stubbornly refused to outright ask for her to join the crew in the final push to end Cerberus and the Reapers.

Was it to protect her, like Miranda had done with her sister Oriana, to keep her from being on the front lines, becoming a casualty to the war? Was it because he had expected Miranda to come along, simply by forcing herself back on the ship, or at the very least asking to come along? Or was it simply that he just didn't want to admit that he needed her, some fear of somehow being less in her eyes? No, he was drawn to Miranda's independent, often stubborn nature, but knew that she never thought less of him.

They were cut from the same cloth, the burden of other's expectations always resting on their shoulders. Many times this was easy to handle, and with a surprising success rate, but both had never really experienced any kind of connection like the one they currently found themselves in, and it was a weird thing to explore in the middle of a galactic war. Two people representing the perfection of humanity in their own ways, unable to properly convey what they truly felt, thought it had been on the tips of their tongues all along. This led to constant ribbing from Garrus and Joker that initially annoyed Shepard, but he came to see it as a badge of honor, knowing that the two might appear perfect, but in their time alone Miranda and he had found solace and comfort, sharing their flaws and burdens with the only other person who might understand.

It was hard to believe that for all their time together they still never said those three words that seemed so easy to say in holovids like Fleet and Flotilla. With Ashley, he believed he had some feelings of love for her, but their relationship was so short, so off the cuff for the two by-the-books marines, that it never really developed into something more.

With Miranda it was different, he knew that this was love, it just seemed...unnecessary to say it? He wondered why, and knew that he never felt this way about another woman before, maybe it was just the stubbornness making a stand. With Miranda it was no different; the closest Miranda came to letting her true feelings reach her lips was when she admitted to being happy after waking up one morning in Shepard's arms. Staring at her beautiful blue eyes that morning, he knew, even she knew, what she was trying to say, even though she couldn't muster the strength to admit something she had only ever felt for her sister. At the time he knew that was enough, actions always speak louder than words, but he was determined to finally say those words should, no, _when_ he gets back to her.

Their intimate conversations, be they pillow talk in his cabin, a date at the casino, sharing drinks, only confirmed his belief that being together did not fill an empty void in the other person's life, since both of them grew up to rely on their selves first and foremost, bringing with it a strong sense of maturity well beyond their years.

No, it was the feeling that together they are exponentially better than when they are apart. It was something hard to describe, Shepard had once told Chakwas during one of their drinking rituals (that became more like a motherly checkup) that it was like having a rifle that fired faster, was more accurate, and much more durable than simply having two or even three rifles. His tongue was silver when it came to diplomacy, but always tied itself in knots when it came to himself. He was also pretty sure women wouldn't like being compared to rifles either, Chakwas' blank stare at the comparison confirmed this.

Shepard was not going to give all that up; he wanted a life of freedom, children (he paid no mind to the files he saw in the Shadow Broker's dossier, he was a walking defiance of nature), and the opportunity to see peace finally form among the galaxy. If he could get the Quarians and Geth, even the Turians and the Krogan to work together, Shepard knew there was nothing that could stop this momentum now. But he wanted, no, _had_ to see it come to fruition.

The pain in Shepard's body slowly subsided, however he was finding a need to draw shorter, faster breaths. He had no medigel left to use, and any adrenaline that was coursing through his body in the last hours had finally given up, leaving Shepard rudderless in all this chaos. Whatever was happening inside his body had done its damage, and he knew that it would require a miracle to get out of here alive. Heck, he realized it would take a miracle to get half of his N7 armor of his body, Harbinger's blast seemingly welding it to his skin. _Maybe the Council will be so thankful for saving the galaxy they'll pay to bring me back to life_, Shepard thought to himself, wondering if his dark humor was the result of shock, blood loss, concussions, or more than likely a combination of all three.

A rumbling started to occur through what seemed to be the entire Citadel, and with it Shepard felt his body falling down. Down to where the lifeless body of David Anderson had slumped to one side, down into the depths of the Citadel's ring, down to...hell? And as he fell, Shepard lost consciousness, his limp body finally contacting a hard surface as rubble of the millenia year old structure had fallen on top of him. _I...I can't have it end now...my body can't...I...Miranda?_

* * *

**10 Minutes Earlier**

With the Citadel under Reaper control for the past few days, Commander Bailey and his C-Sec forces worked primarily on defending the Council on the Presidium tower. With the arms closed and the station effectively cut off from the rest of the galaxy in recent hours, the primary goal was to minimize the loss of life, but the order of importance was always clear: Councilors, Ambassadors, everyone else.

Bailey hated to think of those families who might get caught in yet another assault on the Citadel, but he had clung to the belief that the galaxy would pull through this and need familiar leadership afterwards. More importantly, he believed in Shepard, he saw the determination in the man's eyes, the effort he went through using his Spectre status to augment security procedures, he carried with him a firm belief that planning would save the day, and to do any less, Bailey thought, would diminish those efforts.

Despite what was occurring on ravaged planets across the galaxy, the Reapers did not seem intent on the instant slaughter of the Citadel population. Maybe this was because of the Citadel's new location, that there was too much "material" on Earth that it would keep the Reapers occupied for the time being. It was a thought Bailey was actively trying to push to the back of his mind, thinking of his ex-wife and kids who had been on Earth when the Reapers attacked.

Bailey was expecting the chaos of the attempted coup by Cerberus a few months back, only on a scale much more relentless, but it never occurred. Their were Reaper forces on the station ever since they arrived in Earth's orbit, and if they found anybody in their patrols they were summarily killed or taken away for processing, but for the most part the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" was becoming the norm.

It felt in many ways like a mandatory curfew, with all commerce cut to a halt, automatic taxis flying without commuters, families barricading themselves within their homes, trying not to draw attention with any noises. This version of house arrest was not what Bailey expected or had planned for, as he waited on the other side of a barricade just near the entrance to the Presidium tower. He wondered if the Reapers were planning to use their methods of indoctrination on the citizens of the Citadel, making them more complacent and even willing to be harvested, and whether he should just make peace with his new fate.

_No, snap out of it_, he thought, _that's exactly the kind of thinking that will make you an easy target for husks or those grotesque cannibals. But what if this isn't even my own thoughts? What if I'm being indoctrinated right now?_ This second guessing of his methods made him close his eyes, taking his focus away from the tower's primary entrance.

"Hostiles! Multiple hostiles!" A human C-Sec guard announced and Bailey immediately sprung back into action, holding his Vindicator rifle against his shoulder and taking aim as tens, then hundreds of husks started to pour from the stairwells, the elevators, seemingly everywhere all at once, their magnified moans and screams would be debilitating alone to anyone not prepared for combat.

_What the hell brought this upon us?_ Bailey thought as he and the other guards emptied their clips into the oncoming push of the mummified corpses. As he hid behind cover to reload, he saw through the tower's glass skylight the arms of the Citadel open up, returning to their former positions. A smile came across his face, realizing that whatever was happening, it was not what the Reapers wanted.

"Keep up the fire! O'Brien, watch your left flank! Sergius, toss a grenade or two near the right stairwell! We can do this! Just hold out!" The pasty white human turned to his left, scoring clean headshots that dropped the husks, leaving them to be objects to be crawled over by the remaining reapers. The turian's grenades landed right at the top of the stairwell leading to the Tower, sending husks flying into one another in an attempt to knock them off their feet, buy the other guards more time to reload and line up their kills.

The horde was constant, keeping up a pace that for the next five minutes did not relent. Guards fell, succumbing to the mob attacks while trying to reload, the swarm slowly breaking over the barriers erected, climbing over their own in some weird sense of teamwork that might have just been a trick on the eyes.

"Fall back! Back! Up the stairs! Use all grenades on hand!" Bailey yelled as he pulled back, realizing there was nowhere else to fallback after this point. He picked up another Vindicator rifle from a fallen guard, firing both rifles freely in order to buy his men more time to move up the stairs and get into position for one last defense. He looked around quickly as he turned, realizing that despite all this, he only lost three guards, much less than he anticipated.

As Bailey climbed over the final barrier at the top of the stairs he started to feel a rumble from what felt like the trunk of the Tower. The Citadel was one of those places where up didn't really mean anything, it was down that was constant, the result of an artificial gravity system he didn't fully understand himself, he just knew it worked. He returned his focus on the horde, realizing they were not affected by whatever was occurring at the moment. Bailey continued to fire his Vindicator until it the final three rounds left his clip, realizing this was it. He stayed on the wall of barrier, using his rifle as a club to knock the husks down as they climbed up, and found his fellow officers resorting to the same thing.

As Bailey made peace with the fact that this was it, a red wave appeared from everywhere, seemingly coming from the bottom of the stairs and the elevators. It rippled past everything, seemingly doing nothing until it passed husks that had fallen from the initial assault, turning them to ash. The wave kept coming, turning anything Reaper in its path into embers that disappeared as it caught the air around them. As the wave finally came across Bailey he instinctively closed his eyes, but after a second or two of pause he opened them and saw the husks, and their screams, had disappeared. He looked around, panicked, wondering exactly what was happening. As he looked outside the Tower skylight he again saw the red wave continuing past everything in its path, reaching space, swallowing anything that looked like a Reaper into fiery explosions. _This is it_, he realized, _we won. We won!_

Bailey smiled, a roar that he saved only for Biotiball matches seemed to force its way out of his throat without him even realizing it, as he hugged and shook hands with the surviving guards. They looked on in amazement, as the wave reached Earth, everyone convinced this was it, they could rest. Little did they know that wasn't the end of the story.

The guards looked as the Tower itself seemed to get brighter outside, light building up in blinding intensity and developing a crimson red hue to it, bringing with it an ominous feeling that their joy will soon disappear. This feeling was diminished when the tower ultimately began firing into space, it's target being the Charon Relay. As the beam left, explosions followed all throughout the Citadel, reminding Bailey of Sovereign's attack nearly three years ago.

During all this sudden commotion, Bailey heard the sounds of a building collapsing, realizing the sound was not from any buildings in the Presidium's vicinity but rather one of the arms of the Citadel, mimicking the sounds of metal twisting and warping, slowly leaving it's spot as the station continued to spin. The sound had to be deafening to anyone closer to the arm as it broke off, many of the surviving C-Sec officers trying desperately to identify which arm it was, and if their friends or family were there. He wasn't a man of faith, but Bailey prayed quietly under his breath that those on the arm would be safe, realizing that the Citadel arms, in the event of this type of emergency, would automatically create a mass effect field to protect from the vacuum of space. This information provided at least some comfort that those on the arm were not doomed to instant death.

Amidst the chaos and ongoing explosions, which eventually subsided, the Citadel itself didn't seem to suffer any more gaping damages to compliment the loss of the arm. Silence soon fell over everything and everyone in the area, recognizing that now, the war was over. Realizing that this was it, many of the C-Sec officers fell to the ground in exhaustion, some officers hiding their tears by putting their hands in their faces. If only there was more of a chance to live in that moment between destruction of the Reapers and witnessing what could be seen, at best, the loss of thousands of lives.

* * *

After making sure all the Councilors and Ambassadors were safely accounted for, and successfully making radio contact with other officers throughout the station. Bailey made his way down to the main level of the Presidium, hoping to make it the epicenter of the recovery effort on the Citadel. The elevators were still functional, and Bailey and his squad jammed into the elevator to make sure there were bodies ready to assess the situation and help anyone in need. The officers in the elevator noticed the atmosphere inside consisted of caution, yet contained a sense of giddiness, as though the sooner they arrived downstairs to the Presidium grounds the quicker it would even be more apparent that the Citadel was free of Reaper presence, and this was not a dream.

Reaching the ground level, Bailey saw amazing levels of damage. Stores were collapsed in, the fountains that were one of the Citadel's many landmarks were filled with rubble, the Relay Monument destroyed, along with the Krogan statue. Surprisingly there were very few bodies on the ground, realizing that many might be buried underneath the rubble, or remained hidden in their various residences. Bailey hoped for the latter.

Oddly enough, the signs of Keepers and their busywork were beginning to show themselves, as the spider-like race was already in the process of removing the rubble out of key junction areas. Compared to the Tower, power was nonexistant in the beginning of their survey, the officers relying on their rifle mounted flashlights to provide greater detail than what little light was reflecting out from space and Earth. An hour after the surveying squad was wandering around the grounds, it seemed as though the daylight simulator made it's way online again, beginning it's cycle anew with the sunlight barely shining through. Bailey took it as a good omen, the station sure needed it at the moment.

"Sir, I believe there's a survivor on top of that rubble" Sergeant Haron motioned his flashlight to the rubble that had collapsed the Relay Monument. Bailey made his way over to the turian, spotting the location with his own. Bailey was shocked with what he saw, the unmistakable signs of a human hand at the top of the pile, his chest showing signs of short breaths, the rocks on his body making it more evident that there was still life in the man.

"My God, how could someone survive that? O'Brien, on me, bring the first aid kit!" Bailey ordered as the officer complied, the two making their way up the rubble, attempting to not to disturb the pile that had appeared.

As the two got closer to the body, they were able to hear the labored breathing of a man who had half his combat armor blasted off of him, bruises covering nearly every area where his skin was exposed. Immediately O'Brien applied medigel, and ran his omnitool over the man's body, attempting a rudimentary diagnostic before attempting to move him in any way.

Bailey moved some of the rocks that had covered his arms and legs, a glint of light hitting him in his eyes as he did so. The light from the artificial sun drew attention to a pair of dogtags on the man's neck, the iconic N7 logo apparent and immediately recognizable to any human alive in the last thirty years. It didn't take long for Bailey to solve the equation.

"Holy shit, it's Shepard..." Bailey couldn't even believe what he was saying, O'Brien looking at his Commander as though he had finally snapped.

"What...what's Shepard doing on the Citadel? Shouldn't he be on Earth?"

"All I know is that Shepard is barely alive in front of us, and there are no more Reapers. Who else could have done it?"

"Should we move him?"

"Not unless you want to be responsible for letting the man who saved the galaxy die!" Now get backup and a stretcher here now! Make contact with any hospital and tell them to make room! _Move it_!"

* * *

Shepard woke up to the sounds of pots clanging to the floor. Of all the things to wake him up, it really wasn't what he expected to hear anytime soon. His eyes coming into focus, and a parched mouth fueling his desire to get up, he felt pain as he attempted to brace himself up with his elbows, noticing he was in the bedroom of his apartment at Tiberius Towers.

_This can't be right_, Shepard thought as he turned to get out of bed, noticing the bandages that covered his chest and arms, realizing the bridge of his nose was covered as well.

As his feet landed on the wood floor beneath, he turned to face the TV, and noticed two medical stations pushed to the corner, accompanied by a variety of medical accoutrements, various bandages and open vials showing signs that it had been the subject of frequent use in recent days. His mind flashed back to what had occurred with the Catalyst, choosing to destroy the Reapers once and for all.

_It couldn't be a dream_, he thought, _why else would I feel like complete crap?_

Shepard's thinking was interrupted by another clanging of pots and the sound of a female voice voicing her displeasure with a variety of curse words.

Not knowing exactly what to expect, he remembered the Predator pistol he had placed underneath the bed, making sure there was always a weapon nearby. The weapons locker that Anderson installed in the closet was just too far away when it could be a matter of life and death against another clone, or Marauder, or Phantom. Shepard knew he would always have a target on his back, this was his way of having the equalizer.

Reaching under the mattress, he found it exactly where he remembered it to be, and turned the safety off. He stood completely still, focusing on the sounds of the apartment to see if he could identify anything else that was out of the ordinary. He could hear the occasional hum, which confused him further, and slowly made his way downstairs, his right hand more than capable of holding a pistol again.

As he left his room, he noticed the conversation area was a mess, statues and books on the ground, the pebbles used to accent the apartment's flora all across the floor. Weapon drawn, yet still lightheaded from whatever surgery or injuries he had sustained, Shepard moved down the stairs slowly, wincing as he placed pressure on his right foot.

_Must not be completely healed_, Shepard thought to himself, though his left leg seemed to carry his weight just fine. Reaching the edge of the stairs he saw that the front door was closed, then immediately looked left, seeing that the game room fared even worse than the conversation area, the bookcases completely devoid of anything to place on the shelves. Oddly enough, the poker table didn't seem to be buried underneath the wreckage, it's location moved to just inside the entrance of the game room.

As Shepard looked right, he saw that the bar was relatively safe, bottles thrown across the floor here and there, but there seemed to be a more understandable method to this madness, not just thrown to chaos. _Chaos_, that was a word Shepard didn't want to hear or think about for a long time.

Shepard heard the sound of a faint hum and instinctively readied his pistol, but noticed it was just the sound of a hovercar passing by the opulent glass windows, having now realized they all had shattered, and with it the lack of neon signs flooding the Silversun Strip also became apparent. Shepard began to piece things together.

It seemed that the Citadel was still able to maintain the illusion of artificial daylight, but the power seemed to be sparse. As he looked out the open window, he could see rubble everywhere, hovercars thrown around like they were the victims of a child's tantrum, and the lack of individuals in one of the busiest parts of the Citadel made Shepard wonder exactly what happened when he destroyed the Catalyst. Did he send the people of this station to their deaths? That wasn't what the AI had stated! Then again, when could something from the Reapers ever be trusted?

The desire for water was becoming too much, and Shepard eyed the bar's sink, wanting to test the possibility of having water on hand. As long as there was water, Shepard knew he could make through whatever had happened, or was still happening.

"Ow! Ow!" the sound of that female voice became more pronounced, and Shepard immediately turned his eyes away from the sink and towards the kitchen, gun raised. As he slowly walked over, gun drawn, he saw pots above the stove, water boiling, and what seemed to be a steak sizzling, the excess oil in the pan throwing out hot oil like it was fireworks.

As he lowered his pistol one more time, he wasn't able to keep his coordination, his right foot staggering wider than he believed he could walk, and didn't kicked a glass bottle to the side, watching it rolling until it clinked the corner of the stone wall.

Startling even himself, Shepard raised his pistol again as a young woman with shoulder length hair popped up from behind the kitchen counter with a jar in her hand, looking for the location of the sound she had just heard, an inquisitive look covering her face.

With the same precision that beat into him since his training days, Shepard pulled the trigger once, believing the jar to be the individuals weapon. The jar shattered, it's red contents falling to the ground and with it the loud scream of a woman who clearly thought she was alone this whole time, now realizing there was a man with a gun pointed her way. Again.

"Hands in the air, don't make a move..._Oriana_?"

* * *

**Well, there's my first fanfic chapter ever. I felt inspired to write after seeing some great Shepard/Miranda stories here, and having that combative sense that Shepard's story can't end just yet, especially with how open ended it was. Like Master Chief he'll probably be back, but in the meantime let's have some fun. Citadel DLC showed just how much better the game could have been had the writers been able to work beyond the ideas of one guy. Plus, we need more Shepard/Miri works up here, gotta represent!**

**Let me know your thoughts, I don't know where this will go but am looking to at least deal with the aftermath of the Reaper War.**


	2. Expect the Unexpected

2 : Expect the Unexpected

"Shepard?! You're awake? You're Awake!"

As Shepard realized he was looking at his girlfriend's younger sister, he immediately lowered his weapon, not wanting to put Oriana through another situation where she stared down the barrel of a gun.

Amazingly, Oriana wasn't as scared this time, shocked more that the person standing in front of her was able to make it all the way down the stairs without drawing any attention.

She regained her composure and left the kitchen, walking towards Shepard with a face that was working it's way from scared to elation.

Before Oriana could get within five feet of Shepard, no doubt to hug the man, the apartment's entrance door slid open, revealing the sight of a aged, battle tested man with familiar yellow and white armor aiming his Mattock rifle at his former commanding officer.

"Don't you _fucking _move or I'll take your head right off!" Barked Zaeed as he made his way into the apartment, realizing that the man he saw in front of him was no ordinary robber.

"Shepard? What the 'ell did you do to Lawson's sister?" Zaeed exclaimed as the door shut behind him.

"Zaeed? What the hell is going on here?" Shepard asked, the familiar sense of confusion that he thought had disappeared returned in full force.

"What's going on 'ere is I was protecting your broad's sister while she went lookin' for supplies, though it seems you don't need it anymore," Zaeed said as he lowered his weapon, a sarcastic grin reaching his face.

"Better be thankful the Ryncol I pounded at the party made me unable to finish wiring this apartment to deal with intruders, or you'd 'ave to be brought back to life a second time."

Shepard couldn't help but smile as he saw his old teammate and shook his hand, and with it the tension in the room subsided.

He turned to look at Oriana, eyes welling with happiness until she saw the man who saved her life repeatedly have his throat swallow, his mouth desperate for water.

"Shepard please, sit down, let me get you some water," Oriana quickly turned back to the kitchen as she saw the smoke billow from the stovetop "Oh shit on a stick, not again! That's the last steak in the bloody fridge! Dammit anyhow!"

"I'll take it that's not your influence rubbing off on her," Shepard quietly mentioned to Zaeed.

"No way, I was under strict orders to be as 'diplomatic' as possible wit' the little bird, or her sister would shoot out my other eye. I don't think she was joking, either."

As Oriana returned to the two, glass in hand, they all moved towards the living room, Oriana helping Shepard relax into the sofa, Zaeed placing his Mattock delicately on the couch as though it was an infant.

"So, what exactly happened here? Where's Miranda?" Shepard looked to Oriana, concern on his face becoming more evident as he realized she wouldn't leave Oriana alone unless absolutely necessary.

"Miranda's at the docks getting foodstuffs. Whatever you did worked, the Reapers are destroyed, from husks to those terrible banshees to their destroyers." The smile on Oriana's face was so natural, as though it was liberated after months of warfare.

"Earth is a mess, but basic rebuilding is already starting in London. The Citadel lost an arm, and the damage is extensive, but the Council is alive along with most of the citizens on this station. Power's being restricted, rotating through each arm in order to allow some semblance of normalcy, but basic facilities still seem to work. The Keepers are hard at work fixing the key things, but it's going to take a while to get back to any sense of normalcy."

Shepard took all this in, a light smile of satisfaction lingering, but his mind was hung up on a certain aspect of Oriana's speech. If the Keepers were still alive, does that mean the Geth could still be alive too? Even EDI? That optimistic thought disappeared from his mind when Zaeed chimed in.

"Relays seemed to be fucked half the time though, some ships were able to make the jump, others just kept running along the relays going nowhere. No way anyone's leaving Earth's orbit for the time being. Hope those dextro's have rations on hand. It hasn't turned into anarchy yet, but people are getting on edge. Here on the Citadel at least."

"I thought you were in London, on the ground?"

"Was. My squad's dead, killed by a flamin' Brute. I shit you not, he was literally on fire when he came crashing through our perimeter." Zaeed made the motions with his hands.

"Right after that he just disappeared into thin air, ashes, just poof. Wot a shitty deal those guys got, 10 seconds from seeing the end of this damn war," he concluded and reached to his side pocket to pull out a cigar.

"After reports came in throughout Earth that the Reapers were destroyed, the ships made a beeline to help the Citadel, keep that damn arm from floating off and hitting the moon 'r something. I think it's more a matter of all the species looking to keep all their little ducks in a row onboard, don't want to lose any bargaining power with everyone still getting off their ass after the last six months."

Taking a puff of his cigar, Zaeed was about to continue talking until Oriana chipped in. "Miranda and I were stationed on the _Fuji_, protecting the Crucible with Hackett's _Kilimanjaro_ when the battle ended, we were one of the first ships to dock on the Citadel."

She continued, "When comm chatter indicated you were found in rubble barely alive, Miri bulldozed her way into overlooking your recovery. She got in contact with Zaeed to meet up here, stand watch and play bodyguard in case anyone had ulterior motives to finishing off the savior of the galaxy." Oriana said those last words in air quotes, lightly jabbing Shepard for what he knew would probably be a full on media circus should civilization make a full recovery.

"And I'm only doing it for half my usual rate, as a favor of course." Zaeed proudly proclaimed as he continued puffing away on his cigar.

"Well you're halfway to sainthood with that thoughtful gesture," Shepard joked as he held the finished glass in his hand. Oriana picked up on his subtle cue that he was still thirsty and left to get a refill.

"So how long have I been out of commission?" Shepard wondered.

"About a week. Can you believe this is a tidier version of what we first saw here when you were moved away from Huerta?" Oriana answered as she returned, handing Shepard the filled glass in his left hand.

Shepard ran his right hand over his face and head in a somewhat shocked and stumped manner, realizing that he needed a cut and a shave, unless he was looking to grow something more egalitarian now that the war was over.

"Miranda...is she ok?"

"She hasn't really had a good night's sleep since arriving here. Most of the time she was working on stitching you up; I had to bring her food so she would keep her strength, 'Randa slept at your bedside every night. For as long as you've been recovering she's only left the apartment twice this week, and she is _not_ going to like missing out on you waking up." Oriana again smiled at Shepard like he was already a part of their family.

"Kasumi is with her too, always good to have a thief when it comes to making sure you get what you want." Zaeed mentioned.

"How did Kasumi get here?"

"She was stationed on the _Fuji _as well, helping procure materials and streamlining circuitry for the Crucible. I like her, she's earnest and friendly, and wanted to make up for not joining your squad again."

"The bitch cheats at poker, though." Zaeed said half-serious, the cleaned up poker table now making complete sense.

"So is the Normandy docked here too?"

"Haven't heard from them yet. Half the ships during that final battle skipped to the rendezvous point before the beam fired, those that were left had half their circuits fried."

_Wherever the Normandy is, they'll pull through. They're the best, it can't be worse than the Omega-4 trip_, Shepard thought to himself, believing that if he thought it, it must be true.

Zaeed pushed his point from earlier, "Gotta tell you Shepard, it looks calm right now but I got a feeling it's going to get nasty real soon. The relays are working only 'alf the time, like they haven't fully shaken off whatever happened in that red blast." The mention of the red blast made Shepard focus more, realizing it wasn't just his eyes playing tricks on him.

"And with the geth gone, the quarians might be looking to throw their muscle around, they have the largest fleet still in Earth's orbit. Pretty big pair of bollocks to flash off in front of the Citadel, if you know what I mean."

"The geth are gone?" Shepard said in a slightly shocked tone.

"Just keeled over a few seconds after they got hit in that wave."

"They had Reaper code uploaded to them recently, thanks to Legion."

"That bucket of bolts? Ha! Thought that flashlight was always hiding something, should have junked it when you had the chance." Zaeed, not turning away, flicked his cigar behind him with enough force to send it sailing out the shattered window.

"It wasn't like that, the Reaper code allowed the Geth to be more independent, not as...robot like." Shepard was at a loss for words to explain it. "He sacrificed himself to break the Geth free of the Reapers" Although it means nothing now...

Shepard focused his attention back to Zaeed's concern, "The Quarians have to know not to try anything right now, especially coming so close to being wiped from the galaxy before."

Zaeed cooly pointed out, "Too many people here are acting like a wounded animal, not thinking right, needing to lash out."

Shepard let those words sink in, placing the glass on the table. Just as he moved back to a comfortable position on the couch, the apartment door wooshed open, and Shepard heard the familiar clicks of high heels. _Even with the world falling apart, she still has to dress like she's in command..._ Shepard smirked, immediately getting up to turn and see his lover's face.

"Zaeed?! Why aren't you watching the door! You noticed those Krogan passing by the strip yesterday, what's to stop them from..."

Miranda's words stopped as she saw Shepard standing to her left, their eyes meeting for the first time since the QEC conversation.

She had taken the liberty of wearing Shepard's N7 jacket over her catsuit, a look that looked surprisingly sexy on her, even if it was a few sizes too big on her genetically perfect figure.

There was an immediate sense of shock, neither knowing exactly what to do, never expecting their reunion to be so...out of place in the grand scheme of things. It never would be easy for them, but that was just fine, their relieved smiles at seeing one another broke through any sense of trepidation.

"...John?" Miranda couldn't help but have her voice crack, the sheer emotion that she had been able to repress for years thanks to Cerberus training being completely thrown aside.

"Miri..." Shepard walked towards her, the pain in his right leg being completely ignored as he met her at the step, pulling her in an embrace that connected around her shoulders, as though he was trying to stop her from blowing away in the wind, never to be seen again. Miranda's arms immediately reached underneath his, hooking onto the back of his shoulders, her face planted firmly on his left shoulder, tears being unable to be held back and being absorbed into Shepard's bandages.

"John, John, John..." his name being repeated, Miranda having nothing else to say, they stayed this way for what seemed like hours, the only movement being the slight rocking back and forth as if to ease one another into realizing this was happening, this was real.

"Miri, thank God you're alive."

"I'm so, so sorry I couldn't be there with you."

"It's ok now, really."

"I...I never said...you must have realized that I've never..."

"I love you, Miri." Shepard acquiesced as he kissed the top of her head, her face still buried in his shoulder, realizing that Miranda's fear of putting the right words together couldn't be held against her, especially now.

More than anything this war made him realize there's no point in delaying anything, and the game of emotional chicken that the two were subconsciously pulling with the "L" word did neither of them any favors at this point.

"I love you John, more than anything else in this galaxy" Miranda quietly, but firmly, spoke as she finally broke from their hug, only to take his face in her hands and repeatedly kiss him in small bursts on his lips, Shepard reciprocating in kind as if to make up for all the weeks they had been separated throughout the war.

After feeling each other out, they settled on a long, deep kiss, Miranda's intensity surprisingly winning out in the end.

"Well, that's one way to get me out of an argument" Zaeed finally chimed in, making the two realize they had three sets of eyes on them this whole time. Well, two an a half sets.

Miranda and Shepard both turned their heads, seeing Kasumi beaming with a smile that eclipsed even Grunt's creepy "killed a bunch of mercs" face. She was behind Oriana, hugging the younger Lawson with her head on her shoulder, like she was the lost sibling, not Miranda.

Oriana's eyes were filled with tears, her smile becoming infectious to everyone around her, even Zaeed knowingly revealed a smirk with a light laugh that made everyone really take in that the war was over, and maybe, just maybe, this would be the start of a great new beginning for everyone in the room.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen, the five surveyed Oriana's attempt at providing dinner for the group. It was a sight Shepard didn't really expect to see, since someone bred for perfection should at least have a better handle on the basics like boiling pasta.

"Sorry about all this," Oriana apologetically said as she tried to salvage what she could, taking the burnt steak out of the pan and placing it on the chopping block, trying to scrape off the black that had covered one whole side.

"I'm so used to those colony made rations I didn't know what to expect with something relatively fresh. Better to eat what we can salvage now before dipping into rations. Plus, the whole deal with Shepard waking up kind of made dinner go on the backburner."

"That was the last steak too, you know how hard it is to find real cow up here? Hell, the Reapers might have made them extinct." Zaeed's grumbling seemed to be more over the lack of his dinner being ready than any real anger at Oriana.

Miranda looked down on the floor and noticed the tomato sauce that Shepard had shot from Oriana's hand in his just awoken haze, the two of them looking at each other with a friendly look that said "If you won't say anything, I won't." The partners in crime nodded their heads slightly.

"Can anything be salvaged?" Miranda asked her sister, as Shepard noticed her face had signs of slight gaunt, probably due to focusing all her time on overseeing Shepard's recuperation. Shepard took his hand in hers and gave it a slight squeeze, as if to convey his concern to her for putting her welfare below his.

"I know Shepard kept a few Alliance rations stored in his armory upstairs, I'll go get them." Kasumi chimed in as she jumped off the countertop and skipped up the stairs.

"And how would you know about those?" Miranda quickly replied, her protective tone catching everyone's ears. She knew Kasumi wouldn't even attempt to court Shepard, on top of the fact that the two women found themselves surprisingly comfortable being around each other since the Collector mission.

"Because snooping around is fun, and I missed that room a while back" Kasumi replied sing-songedly.

"Shepard's a boxer man too!" was the last everyone heard as she reached the second floor, everyone shaking their head.

"I need a beer." Zaeed immediately went to the refrigerator.

Shepard sat down at the kitchen island, Miranda helping him with his seat as Oriana cleared the stove and tried to separate the spaghetti from the water in the pot, the result looking like a lumpy mush. It didn't matter to Shepard, he could feel his stomach squeezing for anything.

"I'll eat that Ori, it can't be _that_ bad for someone who's been out of commission for a week."

"Really Shepard? Your first meal, post-Reapers, is _that_?" Miranda questioned, thinking he would go for the steak at the very least, or the rations Kasumi had just placed on the countertop as she returned.

"The main meal doesn't matter when you're my dessert, does it?" The sound of Zaeed barely keeping the beer in his mouth was followed by a single but hearty laugh as Kasumi couldn't help but respond to such a poorly crafted pickup line.

Miranda rolled her eyes with a smile that showed itself as playful as she pinched Shepard's nose, letting a light biotic shock let him know that it was full of good intentions, but that he needed to come up with better material. Shepard couldn't help but think the opposite if he got that response from her.

Oriana pulled the last jar of sauce from the cupboard, realizing that Shepard didn't care if it was room temperature, he just wanted something to eat. Placing everything on a plate, she played waitress and placed the dish in front of him, proudly handing him a fork as he began enjoying his meal.

The others took their pick from the MRE's on the counter, everyone eating in silence, Shepard noticing the way they were eating was as though they had been running on one meal a day in this last week, very likely even sometime before.

Zaeed stabbed at the steak with a knife, but surprisingly cut a third of it off and offered it to Oriana, who gladly accepted. Either this was because of Miranda being in the general vicinity, or Zaeed might have become a big softie after all this fighting. Shepard really didn't know at this point.

After everyone enjoyed their meals, much as they could, Shepard attempted to get some more answers to everything that was around him.

"So, no Normandy contact, a week with limited power, relays are a crapshoot, and the geth are gone. Anything else at this point?"

Seeing that Miranda was more concerned with keeping a hand on Shepard at all time, as if to both comfort and monitor his health, Kasumi offered to take up the role of Avina.

"Jacob and Samara are fine, they're on Earth helping with cleanup and organizing the remaining forces. Grunt seems to have been placed in Urdnot Wrex's inner circle following the battle, they say he saved an STG squad from two Brutes by himself."

That news made Shepard perk up in interest, knowing how tough the Brutes can be, especially after trying to dodge them while getting those damn missiles online in London.

Miranda chimed in with a pertinent piece of information "You should be glad to know that the Council is alive, Commander Bailey did an impressive job keeping them safe. He was also the one to find you in the Presidium rubble and made sure Dr. Michelle got to you in time."

"I'm glad he pulled through this, looks like I owe him a bottle of something expensive."

She could tell what Shepard was thinking next. Placing his hands in hers and rubbing them, she continued, "I'm sorry Shepard, Admiral Anderson didn't make it, too much blood loss."

This somber fact made Shepard physically sink into the stool, regret eating him up inside, having nowhere else to go. He remembered The Illusive Man's control over him, forcing him to shoot Anderson, no doubt the final blow in what made the man, the father figure in his life, finally cross over, not being able to see the future that he helped fight so hard for.

Despondent, Shepard held his face in his hands, rubbing them as if through some logic it would make this sad truth go away. Miranda's moved herself to hug John from the side, her arm reaching from his back around to the front, as though she would shield him from anything else, wanting to protect him just for the moment, knowing even war heroes couldn't keep a firm upper lip all the time.

The others knew this was tough on him, and had not intention of being disrespectful while Shepard processed this. Even Zaeed held his head down in a moment of silence, knowing he had mentors through his career that carried the same level of respect.

Shepard finally moved his hands from his face, placing his hands over Miranda's as if to say he was fine, kissing her right hand before she took it away.

"How safe is the apartment complex, or the strip for that matter?" His attempt to change the subject apparent to everyone.

Kasumi returned to her VI role. "Only had some real problems the first two days after the war ended. Zaeed made sure to scare off anyone who was looking to cause trouble or steal anything that wasn't bolted down."

"Only got to shoot three people, one of them was a Salarian so that only counts as half." Shepard couldn't tell if that was real sorrow in Zaeed's voice or if he was simply playing up his merc persona.

Kasumi continued, "Since then, it's been relatively quiet, everyone seems to be going on trust at the moment, at least in this ward. The Presidium is the safest place, lots of C-Sec is guarding Huerta and the embassies first. You even had a nice security detail when they were moving you here from Huerta, but they moved on to other places when Zaeed arrived. The lower wards and docks are more like the Wild West, that's where we came from, looking for any more rations or foodstuffs from the few ships being allowed to dock."

"Seeing as how you two returned empty handed, I take it that didn't work out so well."

"Guns and grains, that seems to be making kings out of paupers at the moment. There's simply nothing we can do at the moment without resorting to outright bullying," Miranda had jumped in.

"No, no, I understand. And believe me, this really isn't that bad, at least we have some necessities like water." Shepard did his best to keep things optimistic, and they had no reason to doubt him. They had all heard about how he was an orphan on Earth, running in some pretty rough corners which no doubt had hardships well beyond what they were dealing with, and at least they had a place to stay in relative peace and quiet.

As Shepard spoke his mind about the situation, the Citadel's daylight simulator went from afternoon to evening, settling to a dark nighttime atmosphere that made the others realize it might be time to call it a day, if for no other reason that to give Shepard time to process everything that was dumped on him in the few hours since he regained consciousness.

* * *

Miranda verbally went through the list of what seemed the nightly routine for the group as she helped Shepard get up, recognizing he was favoring his right side.

"I'm going to get John back upstairs, dress his wounds some more. Zaeed, you lock and barricade the door; Kasumi reset the proximity sensors on the stairs, Ori you make sure we have those jars filled with water." Everyone nodded to their assigned roles as Shepard made it up the stairs.

"John, sit down" Miranda ordered, albeit politely, as she slowly picked away at the bandage covering the bridge of Shepard's nose. He was surprised that when she removed it that he still felt raw, as though he hadn't healed completely by now.

"You're running on empty in the module department, all your implants were fried. That extra N7 dose of gene therapy is the only thing that held your body together until Dr. Michelle and I were able to stabilize the missing synthetic parts Lazarus provided you. For the time being, what you were able to do these past 18 months in term of exertion is out of the question."

"So...no more Claymore?"

"No, no more Claymore. Toughen up, soldier boy, or I'll make it doctor's orders that you only carry around that piddly Avenger." Miranda smiled as she kissed Shepard on the lips after applying a small dose of medigel to Shepard's nose.

Miranda then continued to remove the remaining bandages on his arms and chest, applying the medigel as needed, adding with it a slight biotic massage more out of establishing intimacy with her lover than any real necessity in terms of healing.

As she placed new bandages across his chest, she reaffirmed her earlier diagnostic. "I'm being completely serious John, half the synthetic parts inside you were destroyed. Anything not deriving from organic tissue simply isn't there anymore."

"Don't I know it, felt like my body was on fire. So...you all saw a red wave as well, I didn't just dream that up?"

Miranda nodded "It was one of the scariest things to see, something that you automatically assume to be your impending death, only to be relieved that it just destroyed the Reapers."

"If only it was as blue as your eyes."

"Ass."

Oriana was seen coming up the stairs, followed by Zaeed and Kasumi. She handed Miranda two containers of water, mostly for Shepard. She hugged her sister and whispered something in her ear which caused Miranda to blush before waving goodnight to Shepard, her face still smiling, heading for the guest bedroom with Kasumi.

From the sound of it, Zaeed had made his bed on the floor of the balcony keeping point, a bag of weapons clanking to the ground along with a loud relaxed grunt. With the proximity sensors online and everyone up on the second floor, it allowed for greater security should any trouble come their way in the night.

Shepard got up, attempting to go to the bathroom, clean up a bit before heading to bed. Miranda again watched as he favored his right side, making a note that his foot might be fractured, and a cast would be necessary to speed up healing.

As he returned to the bed, he noticed that Miranda had already changed into something more comfortable, one of his N7 t-shirts covering her underwear. He had seen her do this a few times before, although undergarments weren't usually a part of this nighttime attire.

He took his Predator pistol and placed it back under the bed on his side, noticing that Miranda was watching him from her side of the bed with an amused look on her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, there's a Hornet on this side, in case you ever need backup."

Shepard smiled approvingly, "great minds think alike."

The two slid under the sheets, Miranda making sure Shepard was comfortable before snuggling up next to him, knowing that he would need a few more days of rest before they could be more...intimate in their reunion, as much as she wished otherwise.

"So, what happens now?" She asked as she slowly became attuned to his heartbeat as her head laid on his chest.

"For one, you're here, and you're staying right by my side. Commander's orders."

"Yes, sir." Miranda played along.

"Tomorrow I want to take a tour of the area, see if I can get up to the Presidium, establish contact with Admiral Hackett or the Normandy."

Miranda knew he would worry himself sick over the loss of his ship, and a part of her also wanted to make sure her old colleagues were safe. She didn't really have the level of connection to the crew like Shepard did, but she did enjoy the company of Garrus and Joker and Dr. Chakwas, she even warmed up to Tali when she had accepted the fact that Shepard looked to her like a younger sister. They had all fought bravely to make sure the galaxy was free of the Reapers, and that alone deserved Miranda's respect. She knew that his former lover Ashley Williams was onboard the ship during the war, and the two never really had talked much, even during the party a few weeks ago. There was friction there, mainly due to a lack of communication, but Miranda was willing to put aside past differences if she would, having full faith that Shepard wouldn't attempt to do anything as reckless as jeopardize their relationship for some last minute carnal desire.

Shepard finally put the words together that had lingered in his mind, "I also have to get in contact with Kahlee Sanders, express my condolensces." Judging from the beating of his heart, she knew this was causing him stress, and lifted her head up to look him in the eyes.

"Do **not** let this eat you up inside, John. I understand the man was like a father to you but you can't feel guilt for anything that happened, he knew the risks just like you did."

"I was the one who shot him, made him bleed out."

"...What?"

"The Illusive Man was on the Citadel, he informed the Reapers of what the Catalyst was, and was fully indoctrinated with Reaper tech. He was able to control my body, made me shoot Anderson in the stomach. It...if only I had been stronger I could have..."

"No, do **not** think like that, John." Miranda had lifted her head up, grabbing Shepard's jaw with her left hand, making him look her in the eye, both fighting back tears. "It was the Illusive Man who killed Anderson, not you. You will let that son of a bitch win if you place the Admiral's death at your feet, not his. You know that's the truth John, let it go, _please_." her voice was pleading by the time she finished speaking, realizing that if Shepard held onto this guilt it would stay with him for a long, long time.

Shepard took a second to process those words, never taking his eyes away from hers, a resolute nod of his head made her realize that he finally fought back against the guilt that just seconds ago was willing to attach itself to his heart indefinitely.

"Miri, I missed this. Thank you."

"You've saved the galaxy, never forget that. Whatever happened along the way, you did what no one else can ever say they accomplished. Remember that the next time you feel any guilt about what happened over the last six months."

The two embraced each other tightly, Shepard realizing that Miranda was right, and for the sake of their relationship, the second guessing of his decisions would have to stop. He just needed someone to remind him that his accomplishments far outweighed his failings.

The two drifted off to sleep, both of them having the most fulfilling sleep either could remember in weeks, since the last time they were together. And no matter what happened the two realized this would be the beginning of a long streak of contented nights, as long as they were together.

**I always had the feeling that Miranda probably got along the best with Kasumi out of the ME2 crew you picked up, simply because she would have had experience breaking through Miranda's emotional wall, especially as she became involved with Shepard romantically. That's also why I think Oriana and Kasumi would be a real mischievous pair of friends.**


	3. Don't Forget About Us

3: Don't Forget About Us

Ashley Williams had been in the forest for the past few hours, the sweat and foliage increasing her frustration every time she had to move forward into green mush. Her helmet only increased the sweat she had to deal with, knowing that outside the pollen could become more than a liability compared to other tropical planets she had been on during her time with the Alliance.

As she looked around she noticed the tracks of another human that had already trampled down some plants, feet that were much larger than her own. Slowly she followed them, doing her best to minimize sound and avoid rubbing against any more brush that would get in the way of her Valkyrie rifle. After picking it up on the Citadel during one of the Normandy's last procurement docks, she liked the compact design, it's double shot capability and high accuracy, making it ideal for someone like herself who had primarily stuck with sniper rifles. Until her time aboard the Normandy, that was. With two of the best shots in the galaxy on her team, Ashley realized that her skills would be put to better use at the mid range level, softening up targets for either Shepard, Garrus, or James to finish off near or far.

Reaching the edge of the forest, Ashley stayed in the brush as she noticed the blue armor of her human colleague, James Vega. he had crouched down, using his goggles to survey the damaged facility that was within walking distance.

"See anything moving, Lieutenant?" Ashley asked.

"Negative, LC. Nothing but a caved in roof and some artillery fire littering the landing pad. Got some damaged shuttles to our left, none look to be in any condition to fly."

"They might have something to salvage, that should count for something today."

As James got up, he, pulled out his Eviscerator, activating the omniblade, and the two slowly moved from the jungle into the clearing before making a dash to the inside of the facility.

The Normandy had crash landed on the planet Zorya, although the crew didn't know where they were exactly until two days ago after running across another totalled mining facility. After escaping the Sol System as the Crucible fired, the Normandy was hit with a blast that knocked the ship out of FTL, the entire frigate turning into a dead weight as it crashed, it's systems going completely offline. Ash never thought the Normandy would fall out of the sky again, much less with her on it the second time. _Sometimes I think that curse is still following me_, she remembered herself saying as the crew evacuated from the ship to survey the damage.

Garrus had always maintained they were on Zorya, pointing out the other planets on visible in the sky and noticing similar vegetation he saw a year prior during a mission with Shepard and the legendary mercenary Zaeed Massani. Tali had claimed it was a whole new system, that the ship had actually been flung into unexplored geth territory.

At the time Ashley didn't really care where here was, thinking a normal system reboot would occur and the Normandy would be out within the day. This time something was different, EDI had been offline since being dumped out of FTL. This was incredibly disconcerting, especially to Joker, who had spent the following days in a state somewhere between denial and depression, both dangerous places to be when all that mattered was getting back to Earth, and the loss of Steve Cortez in London meant there really wasn't a pilot as capable on the ship should something happen to Jeff.

As Ashley nodded for James to move forward, she checked the inside of the building, finding nothing but decomposing bodies and rubble everywhere. Zorya had a population of over 100 million before the war, but it looked like much of that was taken care of during the last six months, the planet's surfaces showing signs of scorch marks and craters where the Reaper forces bombarded the planet.

Moving into the facility, Ashley noticed an armory and lockers along the west wall. James noticed them as well, and the two moved over to check to see if there was anything to salvage.

James kicked in the dozen or so lockers, Ashley following right behind, primarily looking for rations. The Normandy was stocked before the battle on London, but with the last minute pickup of the squad following Shepard's orders, a crate of dextro based MREs were damaged trying to break out of Earth's atmosphere in the heat of the raging space battle. Food that could have lasted for years was exposed to the elements, leaving it unedible.

Supplies weren't a severe problem for the humans and lone asari and prothean on board, if push came to shove there was always the indigenous life on Zorya to hunt, but Garrus and Tali were dextros, and both were running low on supplies. Garrus had voluntarily cut his rations in half, saying he was planning for the worst and did the same thing on Omega, but in reality was making sure Tali was well taken care of. Something had happened between the two in recent weeks, but Ashley never pressed on the matter, since the same thing happened with her and James.

Ashley continued looking through the lockers, hoping to come across turian supplies. Of the dozen lockers, only two seemed to have dextro rations, none of the weapons being worthwhile to salvage.

"LC, want me to contact Adams, let him know what we found?" James asked as the two positioned themselves against one of the building's walls while Ashley put various items in a carryall for easy transport.

"Might as well, go check out those two shuttles North of here, they seem to be in the best shape."

"Roger," James moved outside the hangar, his omnitool flashing open as he walked away.

Six dextro rations, a few thermal clips and a about a dozen grenades, that's all she was able to find. It was something at least, and this scrounging up supplies kept Ashley and James busy while the engineers and other members of the Normandy did what they could to get the ship operational again. Even the QEC was down, which she didn't think was possible given her very basic understanding of how it worked, though she admits to having EDI explain it to her many times to make sure she could at least feign understanding.

Packing up and pulling the pack over her shoulder, she holstered her rifle and replaced it with a Predator pistol, allowing for some protection while carrying the bag of supplies. As Ashley was about to round up James, her omnitool began to flash, a message from Tali coming in.

"Ash, we were able to get the emergency power back on, the QEC is back up for communication. Did you find anything worthwhile?" With the chain of command in disarray aboard the ship, many deferred to Ashley as the XO. Liara or Garrus had more than enough experience, not to mention the respect of the crew, but the two quietly pushed Ashley to the top of the list, realizing that it was still an Alliance ship, and sometimes appearances mattered.

It would also help Ashley rally support from the crew, having two of Shepard's closest friends vouch for her. The crew had initially been hostile to her, after all she did pull a weapon on their commander, but if Shepard was willing to forgive, everyone else complied.

Ashley responded the best she could, trying to make the best out of her discovery. "I hope you like turian food, because that's all we found."

Tali cursed a bit in quarian tongue, before composing herself to reply to Ashley. "Their food always feels like I've got rocks in my stomach, why can't they learn to put a gun down and pick up a frying pan?"

"It's alright, if the power's restored we're one step closer to getting off this planet, can't say the same for anyone else here."

"Damn Reapers..." Tali muttered.

"We're on our way back, Tali, should be an hour or two now that we know the way."

Ashley closed the comm-link and was about to call for James when she saw him running back, large chunks of pipe being carried over his right shoulder.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Adams was saying there was a need for some couplings for the engines, tried to explain it to me, thought it was best just to take everything in the general area. Pretty smart thinking, right?" James joked, knowing electronics just wasn't what he trained for.

"Just got a call from Tali, power's back on. At least we can get in contact with Admiral Hackett or whoever's in charge now."

"Bueno, bueno." James offered his free hand to Ashley, signaling his willingness to take the carryall from her, freeing her up to use a more powerful weapon. Ashley willingly complied, a smile crossing both her and James' face as she pulled out her Valkyrie once again.

"Lead the way, LC."

* * *

Shepard slowly opened his eyes, waking up from a restful sleep, Miranda's head resting on his chest, looking as though she didn't move at all during the night. _This is exactly what I fought for._

Before he attempted to get up, he paid attention to the sounds outside his room, checking for anything new or out of the ordinary. He did not want to deal with the same situation as yesterday, especially with Miranda around. His body was bruised, no need to make his ego black and blue as well.

Seconds before he was going to move himself from Miranda's touch, he was greeted with a pleasant "Morning," Miranda's Australian accent having a much lighter tone to it than he would have expected.

"How did you -"

"Your heartbeat changed, woke me up. You have a rather pleasant heartbeat when you sleep, very soothing," she mentioned as she lifted herself off his body, the two sharing a quick kiss before getting up to attempt another go at putting the galaxy back together.

"Go, shower and shave, you probably still have Reaper blood on you." She pointed to the bathroom as she put on her catsuit. Shepard obliged, giving a look to suggest that there's more than enough room for two.

"You'll get your way soon, John, I promise. Too much to do right now, get to it."

Shepard walked into the bathroom, the sound of a shaver starting up along with the sounds of the shower kicking to life.

Miranda stepped out of their room, heading down the stairs. Oriana and the others were up already, if for no other reason that to make it look like they were ready to take Shepard's orders. To sleep in would seem rather rude, especially considering this was his apartment, and it did provide safety for them during the Reaper aftermath.

"Morning 'Randa!" Oriana cheerfully said, her hand holding onto a mug of freshly brewed genuine coffee. Real coffee was something that was hard to come by during the war, even before, it being much more economical to use a synthetic blend for all spacecraft. The perks of being in an Ambassador's quarters, no doubt.

Miranda had a genuine smile to her face as she saw her sister, taking a cup for herself. She preferred tea, but knew the coffee was already on tap, no need to be picky at this point.

"Should I try and make something for Shepard this morning?" Oriana asked. The four hadn't been having breakfast outside of coffee, but today seemed like a special day. It wouldn't be anything extravagant, just whatever they could cobble together before it expired.

Miranda nodded "sure, if there's anything appropriate."

"I think I remembered seeing some oatmeal, I'll get right on it."

Kasumi overheard the conversation as she came from the apartment entrance, and hastily added "Let me handle breakfast, you don't want to be responsible for ruining Shepard's second post-reaper meal, right?" Oriana stuck her tongue out but moved aside, allowing Kasumi to get to work.

"Let's see, there's tuna, some rice, some spices, I can make this work. Give me a few minutes, would you?"

The two Lawsons moved to the windows, joining Zaeed looking out at the Silversun Strip.

"Anything suspicious?" Miranda inquired.

"Nah, a few asari came in via hovercar right before the sunrise, but the only other thing out there was some of those Keepers, pushing away some of the debris. Saw one nearly crush another by pushing a hovercar out of the way, guess they don't have any concept of teamwork." Zaeed was puffing away at a cigar, being considerate to puff the smoke away from the two women.

"I'm surprised the Alliance hasn't come by yet. Wouldn't they want to make sure Shepard's recovering?"

"I think they have more important work cut out for them right now, plus John being alive is still relatively unknown outside of the highest in the chain of command. It's part of why I asked Zaeed to help us; to anyone else he just looks like a merc who set up camp here as a squatter."

"I like to think of myself as a liberator of possessed property." Zaeed chimed in, not really arguing with Miranda's logic for recruiting him.

"Those asari you saw, did they look like civilians?" Miranda asked, making a note of Zaeed's earlier comment.

"Didn't see any weapons on them, but they weren't wearing normal clothes. With the asari you never know though, biotics and all that crap."

Shepard made his way down the stairs, noticing the group looking outside. Having donned a gray N7 training shirt with off duty jeans, he made sure that his footsteps were audible to all, announcing his presence as he met Miranda at the window, placing a hand around her waist.

"You look good, John. Amazing what hot water can do, right?" She ran her hand over his smooth face, noticing the wounds had nearly healed, just slight hints of bruised yellow skin on his nose.

Shepard just smiled and squeezed his arm around her waist a little tighter, attempting to keep a more professional manner tot heir relationship when in the presence of the others.

"Zaeed, what other weapons did you bring with you? I want to see if we can get to the Presidium today, at least let Bailey know I'm able to be of assistance."

"You're in bloody luck, Shepard. Got a hold of some fine pieces of destruction right before the war. There's a few Paladins, a Widow, an Argus, one of those fancy Adas rifles, a Piranha, even borrowed a grenade launcher. I could take on all of C-Sec with 'em!" Zaeed flicked his cigar once again out the window as he held his hands out, showing how much mayhem he could cause, taking a good laugh in the process.

"I noticed that Mattock you were using the other day..." Shepard had always felt an attraction to that rifle, it's balance of power and accuracy stole many a kill from Garrus over the past 18 months, and really, that's what it was all about sometimes. Cold, hard numbers.

Zaeed quickly commented with a low, somber tone "It's taken, Shepard. Jessie didn't make it back on London, gotta look out for her daughter, Karen."

"My condolences, I know how much she meant to you. I lost Matilda thanks to Harbinger."

"She saved my life though, protected me from a Marauder's rifle fire as the sod flanked me, I cut that bastard's head clean off in retaliation."

Oriana listened to this conversation awkwardly, feeling as though she missed something somewhere along the line. She leaned in whisper something in Miranda's ear.

"Zaeed named his gun Jessie? Or is he really talking about a woman?"

"It's his gun's name, it's macho men stuff."

"Say no more."

"Hey! No more guy talk, time to eat!" Kasumi was feeling the same way the sisters were, only letting her feelings be much more apparent. She was able to create something that had some sustenance to it, a mixture of rice and tuna, with whatever condiments were available to add flavor. It wasn't really a breakfast meal, but it had everything they needed to stay full for the day, knowing that Shepard wasn't the type to quietly stay in place now that he was awake.

The crew ate feverishly, taking full advantage of this rare meal, the mood around the kitchen being much lighter than what they had experienced less than twelve hours before, no doubt thanks to Kasumi's ability to work magic with the food on hand. Shepard and Miranda stayed close together as they ate, sharing glimpses with one another that looked like the two were reading each other's minds, thankful that duty or some unexpected incident had decided not to separate them.

As everyone finished their meal, Shepard began taking control. "Alright, we're heading out to the Presidium today. Everyone shit, shave, shower and arm up, we leave in 15."

"Yes, sir!" Kasumi replied, giving an exaggerated salute as she left to make use of the facilities first. Oriana copied her gesture and quickly left to use the bathroom downstairs.

As Oriana left, Miranda reached for Shepard's arm, concern showing on her face, "John, Ori doesn't have any type of armor, and she never learned how to use her biotics."

"Simple wedge formation will allow Ori to stay safe in the middle; Zaeed will be at the back to make sure he covers her should anyone try something. Isn't that right, Zaeed?"

"No problem."

Shepard knew Miranda was overprotective of her sister, but Miranda also knew that Shepard made sure that his team's safety was paramount. Oriana was part of the team now, and knew that if anything happened to her Miranda wouldn't forgive him. Despite the two being in a relationship, trusting her sister in someone else's hands was something she knew she would have to work on, finally allowing her head to nod in a slight smile.

"Alright then, you guys suit up, I'll keep watch until Kasumi's ready."

* * *

Zaeed and Miranda nodded and headed upstairs, Zaeed tossing down a Paladin pistol from the balcony to Shepard, allowing him something to focus on for the time being.

He checked the rifle and thermal clip, making sure nothing was out of place as it was tossed around from shuttle to ship on its way up here. With everything accounted for, Shepard leaned against the wall of the fireplace, hearing the sounds of armor falling to the ground and weapons being checked and rechecked, the familiar "ca-chunk" sound was something that felt comfortable to his ears.

"Ready to rock n' roll, Shep." Kasumi arrived down the other flight of stairs, two Locust SMGs attached to her hips, he gauntlets fully charged up and ready to go. She held her hand up as if to tag Shepard out of the waiting game, which he reciprocated with his own hand. He knew she worked alone, and never really followed standard procedure, but she was always reliable, so the eccentricities she displayed were just fine. If there was one thing to distinctly separate his Collector crew from his Reaper crew, this might be it.

Shepard walked up the stairs into his room, where he saw that Miranda had taken a quick shower, her damp hair apparent as she put on her light armor, this action showing how serious she was taking this assignment, if you could call it that.

Without saying a word, he moved right behind her, lifting her up and turning her out of the armory, her frustration apparent as she found herself now facing the bed. "No strenuous activity!" She chastised.

Shepard just smiled as he looked at his armor; while he didn't have his full equipment on hand here in the apartment, the full arsenal still aboard the Normandy, he still made sure to have a few pieces of N7 armor available here. It was better than nothing.

Suiting up he saw that Miranda was staring at him, arms crossed with a semi-serious face, "Your Mattock was named Matilda? Really?"

Exaggerating a smug face full of satisfaction, Shepard looked at her playfully "Well, you and EDI realized it would work well for our mission against the Collectors, seems only right to recognize it's heritage aboard the Normandy."

Miranda showed a face that was still not convinced, he pressed on "I thought you out of anyone would get it, Miri, doesn't Waltzing Matilda mean carrying around your prized possession on your back?" Shepard hummed the chorus of the song to prove his point.

Pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed tightly, Miranda responded in mock disgust. "John, did you ever listen to that song the whole way through? It's about a transient who commits suicide."

Upon hearing those last words his humming stopped, realizing that he probably should have heard the song through. Realizing she just took the wind from his sails, she came over to help adjust some of the straps on his armor.

"Oh, don't give me that look, I was just teasing you." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Your right foot, does it feel any better?"

Shepard nodded in the affirmative "It doesn't hurt to walk on it anymore, but I don't want to risk any sudden movement."

"I'll make sure to get in contact with Dr. Michel, see if there's anything out there."

"I can manage with it Miri, God knows there's someone else out there who needs it more than I do after this war." _There's that selflessness again_, Miranda thought.

Clicking the final strap in place, Miranda slapped his chest as if to give him permission to leave, the two heading downstairs to find the others ready to go, Zaeed's bag of weapons placed on the living room table for the group to take their pick from.

Shepard looked at the offering, holstering the Paladin he received minutes ago and thinking about what could work in his hindered condition, even if he felt that there would be nothing to worry about as they travelled to the Presidium.

Miranda watched him closely, knowing he was deliberately holding his finger out, moving from weapon to weapon just to toy with her.

He first settled his finger on the Argus. _Lord no, he's in no position to keep it accurate in his state, plus the weight,_ she thought.

His finger moved to the Widow. _He wants to have his shoulder dislocate._

Next was the Adas. _Not really for organics, is it?_

He reached for the grenade launcher, knowing full well he expected to hear Miranda voice her displeasure. Once he heard that slight gasp, he finally settled on the Piranha, knowing it and the Paladin should cover everything, relying on Zaeed to bring the thunder should they need it.

Holstering the Piranha on his back, Shepard looked to Miranda with a look as if to say "got ya."

His face switching from pleasure to business, Shepard looked at the four, awaiting one of his famous speeches, his eyes focusing on Oriana. With a reassuring tone he simply replied, "This is all precautionary. The enemy is gone, but there might be a few people out there looking to start trouble. They won't start, we won't finish. Now, let's go see if we can call up a few friends."

**I wanted to at least bring the current Normandy crew into this chapter, let it start as a subplot. Steve's not dead though, he survived, just crash landed with that incredibly weird Shepard scream. We'll definitely get everyone together at the end, but I wanted to give them something to do beyond just being stranded and repairing the ship, so the somewhat forced idea of having to scrounge for supplies for Garrus and Tali came into play.**


	4. First Contact

4: First Contact

The cadre of humans made their way down the apartment halls, Shepard taking all this in for the first time. He had prepared himself for much worse, but this looked more like what he was accustomed to seeing on Omega. Trash and various pieces of furniture were thrown about, all doors locked, the only thing that made this different than Omega was the lack of noise and grafitti. It was something to take heart to.

With Miranda on Shepard's right, Kasumi on his left, and Zaeed bringing up the rear, Oriana looked about as she made sure not to get in anyone's way. Miranda had expressly ordered her to stay in the apartment at all times, so for her the past week of being under sibling house arrest was being washed away, even if it brought with it a certain sense of trepidation.

In order to minimize the perception of being hostile, Shepard had ordered everyone to keep their weapons holstered, Zaeed being the exception, holding his Mattock in his hands, finger ready on the trigger. It wasn't the military procedure Shepard grew up with, but the man had proven his way around a rifle, and whatever he chose to do was fine so long as he followed orders.

"Miranda, anything look different since yesterday?"

"No, the elevator should be working still."

Shepard let the idea walk around his head for a moment before responding. "It's only the third floor, let's take the stairs. Kasumi, cloak yourself."

Kasumi disappeared as Shepard activated the door, feeling the thief take point as she passed by him, the group making their way down the stairs in a clam, collected manner. The thing that seemed the most discomforting about the whole situation was that the only thing Shepard was hearing was footsteps of his crew. The Citadel was always a place of white noise, various shuttles offsetting the bustle of activity from commerce that occupied each ward. To have it be absent to such an extent made it seem like some kind of post-apocalyptic world.

Reaching the first floor, Shepard waited for Kasumi to decloak, then recloak at the nod of his head as he pressed the door open. Reaching the lobby of Tiberius Towers, he noticed that the storefront that once occupied a furniture kiosk with various pieces of furniture was gone, broken glass covering the hallway. Again, nothing but rampant vandalism like you would find on Omega. Shepard was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, it was just a common occurrence since he became a Spectre.

As the group walked out the main entrance of the Towers, the lack of flashing neon signs gave Silversun Strip a much more subdued, depressed look. Where once hundreds of people crammed the walkways, making walking from one place to the other a chore, its barren presence was something Shepard never expected to see. Advertisements weren't playing, the newsfeed was off, you could mistake this for a colony world. What made Shepard concerned at the moment was how well were the people really coping with the situation, so much of their lives being used to everyday automated assistants. At the moment even the lack of hovercars whizzing overhead made the cityborn Shepard more out of his element. Miranda moved to Shepard's side, hoping to inform him of the next step.

"The cab terminal is busted on this side, we've had to make due with the one across the strip, It seemed everyone else stole any cars from people dumb enough to park here."

Shepard nodded, and the group made their way through the strip at a normal pace, eyes looking around for anything, or anyone out of the ordinary. Keeping an eye on the balcony, Shepard noticed that his apartment looked no different than any other in the area, nearly all of the windows were shattered out. One thing he did notice on the balcony was two Keepers pushing away debris that had fallen from the nearby apartments, their clicking sounds becoming more pronounced as the group walked below the upper walkway.

As the group made their way past the arcade, Shepard noticed the doors to the Casino opened, two young kids running out at full speed. They were disheveled, malnourished, and screaming at each other to run faster, the fear in their voice palpable. They seemed completely oblivious to the five humans who were on the other end of the walkway, making their way to the railings that protected civilians from the steep drop near the hovercab terminal.

"Duct Rats," Shepard said quietly, Miranda nodding in confirmation.

"Duct Rats?" Oriana asked quietly, her naivety in Citadel lingo showing through.

Miranda quickly informed her. "Orphans of the Citadel, they live in the ducts, resorting to being mules for illegal transactions or stealing from citizens. Many don't live past their teen years." Upon finishing the sentence Miranda immediately placed herself in front of Oriana, quickly taking her Tempest from her side, both hands on the weapon. Some premonition inside her triggered her protective instincts. Zaeed noticed this movement, closing the gap behind her, making sure that Oriana was out of any potential line of fire.

Miranda's instinct were spot on, as coming out of the casino this time were two turians in dark blue armor, both holding Carnifex pistols, shouting at the kids to freeze.

They weren't C-Sec, Shepard realized, because of two things. The armor was too dark, for one, but he knew that C-Sec never used lethal force against the Duct Rats, partly out of pity for being castaways of what was considered the centerpiece of the galaxy, but also because Commander Bailey had informed Shepard that the two sides were a symbiotic relationship; some of the Rats funneled key information to apprehend the more violent elements, and in return the kids were left alone if they made sure not to participate in anything beyond petty theft. Commander Bailey even attempted with his new promotion a greater sense of outreach, believing that many could work well as a charter class of C-Sec cadets, since they were ingrained with a working knowledge of the Citadel since early childhood.

Shepard knew something had to be done when the turians started to actually take aim, looking to back up their words with more than just heavy handed talk.

"Hey! Stop! **Stop**!" Shepard barked as he broke from the formation, pulling his Paladin and taking aim at the nearest turian, attempting to make himself the target instead of the kids. The turians immediately complied, pointing their pistols at him, ignoring the others.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" One of the turians barked, his distinct yellow warpaint made him stand out. It was a color Shepard couldn't remember seeing on any turians so far since his years in the Alliance.

"Someone just trying to stop you from making a really stupid mistake," Shepard replied, hearing Zaeed's boots step forward, his rifle aimed at the other turian donned in yellow warpaint as well, although much less ornate on his face. The lead turian glanced at Shepard's armor momentarily, recognizing the iconic symbol.

"N7, huh? Figured you would have been sitting up here on the Citadel instead of fighting on Earth, letting the Blackwatch die for your kind. Feh, you bunch of _pussies_." The lead turian hissed his words, mandibles highlighting a clearly agitated face. The words meant nothing to Shepard, he had dealt with far worse during his career.

"You should know better than to shoot at some kids who are just trying to stay alive, especially after what they went through."

"They took chits worth thousands! It was ours, for our families!" The last words seemed to ring hollow, more than anything just an attempt to get sympathy from the humans who had interrupted their heist. It all clicked into place; these two were nothing more than what appeared to be low ranking turian soldiers, either abandoning their post or looking to make a quick cash grab amidst the current confusion.

"Now's really not the best time to think about money, wouldn't you agree?" Shepard tried the diplomatic route one more time.

"Why should it matter? You're outnumbered anyway." The turian said with a light laugh.

At that point there was the sound of cloak fields disappearing, the two asari women Zaeed noticed earlier in the day appearing behind Miranda and Oriana, the extended barrels on their Predators resting on the necks of both Miranda and Oriana.

"Don't be heroes, just drop your weapons and hand over everything. Pretty ladies like you shouldn't be in this situation in the first place," one of the asari said with an air of hubris.

" 'Randa?" Oriana's fear hit Shepard hard, feeling as though he failed her once again, not wanting to put her through anything more traumatic than her own father using her as a human shield.

Miranda let loose a loud sigh, more upset at herself for not picking up on the slight hum that a cloak field generates. She was also upset at Shepard for throwing his self into the situation in the first place. She knew he would always help out those in need, but this one time, with some much riding on it, his body not yet fully recovered from surviving a collapsing structure, with Oriana in tow no less! _Why couldn't he just assume that those kids would be ok?_ Many times Miranda just didn't get involved with the lives of others, simply because she saw others as a distraction to her goals. This was going to take some getting used to if Shepard was looking to continue this noble action outside of any active military life.

Before she made the motion to put down her weapon, Shepard chimed in, Miranda's eyes immediately darting to the back of Shepard's head, realizing he had something up his sleeve.

"I'll give you one last warning, put your guns away and we'll all just call this whole thing off."

"Why the hell should we listen to you? It's four of us versus four of you, and one of yours looks like she's about to piss herself. You're not just a pussy, you suffered some serious brain damage, didn't you?"

Shepard grinned, the turian unknowingly confirmed what Shepard thought all along when this situation got out of hand.

"Kasumi."

With her name being called Kasumi appeared behind the two asari, her Locusts pointed at the back of their heads just like they were doing to Miranda and Oriana.

"I'd listen to the man if I were you." Kasumi politely chirped, realizing the tide had turned once again.

"Hah! Nothing like a Shepard standoff!" Zaeed triumphantly said, no doubt wanting it to turn into a shoot 'em up.

The asari immediately pulled their weapons away from the Lawson's heads, bringing them to their sides and letting them hit the floor. Miranda immediately turned around with her SMG raised, making sure to keep an eye on the asaris should they resort to biotics.

Shepard tilted his pistol down, signaling to the turians that now was the time to respond like the asaris did.

The second the turians dropped their weapons, they were brought down by neural shocks to the back of their necks, surprising everyone, the asari and Shepard included.

"Excellent work Shepard, had no need for any additional support." The rapid voice came from a salarian who just decloaked, his black and yellow armor being recognized by both Shepard and Kasumi.

"Nice to see that you survived London, Jondum." Shepard said as he lowered his pistol, trying to mask his surprise, playing it off like he knew the salarian was there the whole time. He wasn't sure if the salarian picked up on it or not.

"Many Spectres did, should never have doubted that you'd pull through as well. Ms. Goto, glad to see that you continue to help in your new specter status as well," the joke being lost on the other three member of Shepard's group.

Miranda looked at her with a quizzical look, right before Kasumi dropped the two asari with a neural shock of her own.

"Jondum Bau. Spectre. Chased me for a while, thought I died a few months ago." Kasumi said as she holstered her weapons.

Bau was busy shackling the turians with omnicuffs, shaking Shepard's hand in a manner that showed a mutual level of respect between the two Spectres. He then made his way over to the asari to restrain them. While Miranda pulled Oriana away from the others to check on her sister, Zaeed put his rifle away, using his two hands to grab the turians by the collar to prop them up against the nearby wall.

"Could just toss the bastards over the railing here, save us all a lot of time."

Surprisingly, Shepard had no problem with the request, waiting for Bau's response, deferring to the older (in terms of service) colleague.

"No need, have shuttle further down the strip. Better to place them in custody, get information regarding concentrated criminal activity in this ward, see if they can lead to bigger fish."

"If you're heading back to the Presidium, we'd appreciate a lift as well," Shepard commented as the salarian nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Of course, man who saved galaxy can ask for any favor. Heard what you did Shepard, how they found you barely alive, impressive durability, for human."

Shepard motioned for the others to follow, Miranda taking hold of one of the asari from Kasumi as the robbers were waking up from being incapacitated.

The group followed Jondum down the strip to his shuttle, which was much like the Normandy's Kodiak, only emblazoned with the C-Sec logo. As the others in his crew walked aboard the shuttle with prisoners in tow, Shepard held back for a minute, giving Miranda a quick look of relief before immediately switching back into soldier mode.

Shepard looked the turian straight in the eye, the eyes of the alien trying to maintain posterity and focus, but failing. He knew he had been beaten, and the fact that he had held a gun at the man who by all reports saved the galaxy was creating a sense of trepidation about what was to come.

Shepard started talking in a terse, whispering tone, "I gave you plenty of opportunity to just walk away, _especially_ in light of everything that has just happened. And what do you do? You put two kids and a young woman's life in jeopardy, a woman who was clearly of no harm to you." As Shepard continued to stare down the turian, he pulled his Paladin from his side. "Do you know what that makes you? A bully. And I don't like bullies."

The turian's mandibles started to twitch, feeling that he knew what was coming next. As he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of the pistol fire, but immediately felt pain coming from his left leg, the target of one lone shot. He cried in agony, tilting over as his leg gave out, unable to maintain his balance while his arms were restrained.

Shepard grabbed him by the collar after securing his pistol, pushing the turian into the shuttle. "Now sit down, _pussy_."

They started it. Shepard finished it.

**That went somewhere different than what I originally intended, but I think it worked well in getting the squad from A to B without just hitting a button. Plus, I really liked Jondum Bau and Kirrahe, and was disappointed you never got a salarian on your team in ME3, it would make up for the general jackassery of the dalatrass. **


	5. A Look Around

5: A Look Around

James and Ashley arrived back to the clearing that the Normandy had created when it crashed, the LC leading the way as James still carried the pipes and bag of supplies. "Home sweet home," James joked as Ashley attached her rifle to her back, taking the bag of supplies while James immediately started to unhook his helmet, the sweat being too much. Ashley was about to do the same with her free hand until she noticed a red dot on James' chest.

"Funny, Garrus." Ashley said as she turned around to the Normandy, seeing a turian who had just arisen from his resting position on top of the Normandy, his dark armor camouflaging himself well amongst the black stripe that ran along the Normandy's hull. "I bet you didn't even know I was up there," Garrus cooly remarked over the comm channel as he made his way down the ship, sliding down to the wings until he made a soft jump to land on Zorya soil. "Campbell and Westmoreland were on the ground doing perimeter checks, I had nothing better to do since it seems everyone disappeared here..."

"More like destroyed," Ashley replied, Garrus knowing what she meant.

"I take it Tali told you the ship's got power now?" Garrus asked, meeting the two humans halfway as the trio continued to the Normandy shuttle bay, Garrus activating the door to open.

"Yeah, got some supplies Adams requested and even found some more rations for you, you've got to eat some more Garrus." Ashley responded, almost pleading with her friend.

As the group's feet touched the Normandy's metal, Garrus started to take off his helmet with the others doing the same, his eyes being unable to hide how tired and hungry he was. "If we can get the ship airborne I'll up my meals, until then we have to make sure Tali has food in order to help with engine repairs." _You're hiding your relationship behind concern for the ship, very clever_, Ashley thought.

As the bay door closed behind everyone they removed their armor, their sweat drenched clothes underneath showing all in the bay how "tropical" Zorya really was.

"Liara, XO is on deck, get whatever is needed up and ready to speak to Admiral Hackett." Garrus said as he touched his earpiece.

"Understood, have Ashley meet me in the QEC." Liara mentioned, Ashley, without having Garrus relay the message was already making her way to the elevator as she quickly grabbed some sweatpants, expecting James or Garrus to carry her equipment to her locker, Garrus being the one to oblige. He took pride in making sure both his and Ashley's lockers had their equipment placed delicately in their correct position, as a clean locker was a way of showing that the turian was still in control of the stresses they were going through, that this wasn't going to be end of the Normandy's story. As he finished putting the lockers in order he was on his way to the elevator to change clothes, before he heard the sounds of James some twenty feet behind him.

"Scars, come on man, don't leave me hanging with these pipes!" James yelled as he was looking for help from the turian, his need to show off in front of Ashley no longer necessary now that she had left.

Garrus smirked a bit as he made his way back, his stomach growling but wanting to help his friend as well. "I can't believe you're letting those pipes get the better of you, Lieutenant, Shepard would have been able to carry them for a few more hours without breaking a sweat."

"Well we all aren't the billion credit man, are we?" James joked as the two made their way to the elevator to drop the material off of on the engineering deck.

As Ashley arrived at the CIC Specialist Traynor greeted her with a salute, her face nearly giddy now that the ship had power, allowing her to help pull her weight again. Not having any real combat experience outside of basic training, she had been the engineering crew's gofer the past few days, simply handing them the correct tools when asked and fetching meals so they could continue their work unabated. Before Ashley could make a hard turn to head to the QEC Traynor gave her a datapad listing the Normandy's current status."

"Lieutenant Commander, things are going better than expected with EDI being offline. Forward thrusters show no real signs of damage, aft thruster is at 50% power but is enough to get up topside. The drive core sustained no damage but the heat sinks might not be available when we take off. GARDIAN lasers are offline but the main cannon and torpedoes are still functional."

Ashley covered her mouth with her hand, mumbling her run through, "So in all, we can get airborne but we can't sneak by anyone and aren't really equipped for close combat fights."

Traynor nodded. "Correct, we just have to get airborne and run to the nearest relay and get back into Alliance space."

"Let's hope Joker snapped out of his funk and is ready to get us out of here. I want him back in the cockpit in 10 minutes, I don't care what he's doing."

"Aye aye, ma'am." Traynor again saluted and headed for the elevator as Ashley went to the War Room and QEC, where she found Liara standing by, with Javik in attendance as well. Since the Normandy crashed, he had been helping Liara out any way he could, passing the time by telling her of his life, which Liara constantly made sure to record. It seemed she really was going to write that book about the protheans.

"Ashley, Admiral Hackett is standing by, he's got some good news." Liara's reassuring smile already told Ashley what she had hoped for, that Shepard was alive. With that a large weight was lifted off her shoulders, no longer having to have the near impossible burden of taking over the Skipper's place on his ship.

Ashley stepped into the QEC, where she saw Admiral Hackett standing in front of her in a blue light. She instinctively saluted, the admiral returning her salute.

"Lieutenant Commander, we won. The Reapers are destroyed. And you'll be glad to know that Commander Shepard is alive and well, he seemed to regain consciousness 24 hours ago."

"Excellent news, admiral, I'll tell the crew immediately."

"Do you have any idea where the Normandy is? We have been trying to maintain contact for the past week."

"We got his by some blast during the FTL jump to the rendezvous, wound up on Zorya. We've been able to make due and repair what was needed."

"Interesting, other ships suffered loss of systems, but they rebooted after minutes."

"Our ship's AI has been offline since we were grounded, that might be the reason."

Hackett nodded, "It seems that all the geth were offline or destroyed after the Crucible fired, it seems your ship's integration with the AI might have been the problem." That's going to send Joker over the edge, Ashley thought to herself, trying not to let her face show her line of thought in front of the admiral.

"Williams...Admiral Anderson didn't survive. His body was recovered a few days ago."

Ashley's face shifted, clearly distraught. The one man who stood by Shepard, and her, when it came to stopping Saren, who believed in him more than she could says she did during the Reaper war and stopping the Collectors. His influence in Alliance and galactic circles is something that would be incredible shoes to fill.

"I'll...I'll pass that information on as well, sir. We should be able to get topside soon, and we'll head straight to Earth."

"Be careful Williams, the relays are acting up, it's a crapshoot if you get pulled into FTL."

"Understood admiral, I'll keep in contact. Normandy out." As she saluted Hackett the image faded away, allowing Ashley a moment to take in the vital information. There's probably a whole lot more that wasn't covered, but for now the key things were answered. As Ashley stepped into the War Room, she gave Liara a relieved smile and hugged her, the two taking in not only the fact that Shepard is alive, but that for the moment they have some semblance of peace, the immediate threat now gone.

"The commander being alive is a good sign for humanity. He would have been heralded for achieving a great warrior's death, but he should be allowed to savor what no being has done before." Ashley and Liara had never heard Javik be this polite before, they rather expected the prothean to be more combative about what was to happen now, maybe state that Shepard should take over the galaxy or something. _Maybe he'll convince Shepard to do that when they meet again._

"Liara, I'm sure you need to check in as the Shadow Broker, you've got the rest of the day to do what you need to. Let me know if any pertinent information regarding us or Shepard pops up."

"Of course, Ashely."

As Liara left the War Room Ashley activated the intercom to deliver a shipwide report. "Everyone, assemble in the Mess Hall in five minutes, I have some good news to pass on." _And bust out any alcohol that survived the crash_.

* * *

The shuttle trip to the Presidium was filled with silence, save for the sounds of the injured turian groaning. Shepard had taken the co-pilot's chair while Jondum Bau was behind the wheel, the divider between pilots and occupants closed shut. The others in Shepard's squad sat and stood along divider wall, placing themselves between the prisoners, and any possible attempt at a hijack, should the situation even arise.

Zaeed was puffing away on another cigar, making sure to blow the smoke constantly in the turian and asari faces, an action more to make up for the lack of actually shooting anything at the end of the standoff. Kasumi watched him do so every few seconds, although her eyes were much more focused on her omnitool as she typed away at something seemingly only important to her.

This whole situation happened rather fast for Oriana, who was looking at the four dejected aliens across from her, her eyes refusing to make contact if they looked her way. Her eyes also kept looking at the injured turian's leg, blood slowly dripping down, but not enough to be life threatening in any immediate way. Miranda had always said that Shepard was one of the most just people she had ever met, sticking to his beliefs no matter who would stand at his side. It was this sense of right and wrong that made it easy to believe what he said, making it all the more frustrating that no one believed the man's warnings about the Reapers in the first place. _But was shooting this turian in the leg just? He was already arrested, there was no need to go that far, right? And why didn't anyone stop him?_ That last thought made Oriana wonder exactly what her sister had been involved with during her time at Cerberus, and why even Kasumi, who usually carried a positive outlook on life seemed so...nonchalant at what just occurred. _Maybe her attitude is just a defense mechanism?_ Too many thoughts were going through Oriana's mind, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the people she knew as her friends.

Miranda noticed Oriana's quietness, her face looking like her thoughts were going a hundred miles a minute in her head. She lightly knocked her knee into her younger sister's, hoping to have her snap out of whatever was brewing in her head. Oriana looked over to her with a fake smile. Her sister was sharp as a tack and Oriana knew that Miranda probably saw through the authenticity, but she couldn't help but wonder if this would be a common occurrence around Shepard and her sister.

Inside the cockpit Shepard helped handle some of the secondary items while Jondum stuck to piloting the shuttle in a nice, clean manner, wasting no movement, even with airtraffic being so sparse the past few days. "So what brings a Spectre out to the Silversun Strip, Jondum? If you're doing something as average as neighborhood patrol, it means everyone's relaxing in peace on their rebuilt homeworlds."

"I can only imagine that day Shepard, it's when I retire," a large smirk appeared on Bau's face as he continued to look ahead, "Spectres were all ordered back to the Citadel after London, awaiting new orders. Was actually sent to check on your recovery status, inform you of progress. Since you're in good enough shape, you can surprise the Councilors yourself."

Jondum continued, "There seems to be some hope that relays will be getting back to normal, and then we await Council orders to send us out to make sure Citadel Space is secure for trade, reconstruction, things necessary to create sense of normalcy. Councilor Tevos has been pondering the idea of expanding the Council after this war."

"A no-brainer." It was Shepard's genuine response to the idea, too many races sacrificed in order to help stop the Reapers. The cynic in him though realized that the asari councilor will probably offer anything to placate the other species when it eventually comes to light that the asari were sitting on a crucial prothean beacon all along, it's knowledge could have saved hundreds of millions of lives.

Snapping him out of his thought was the quick worded reply of a confused Jondum. "All uplifted races have brains, Shepard."

"Human expression. Means something so comprehensible you don't need to think about it."

"My apologies, never dealt with many humans outside of tracking Miss Goto." He leaned over to tell Shepard something, whispering to make sure none of the passengers heard, even over the noise of the shuttle and sliding partition firmly in place. "Don't tell her this, but I knew she didn't die in the embassy, but realized she had some connection to you, Spectre authority to do as you please."

"Someone trusted my decision making! You're in rare company Jondum." Shepard couldn't help but hide his contempt as he cracked the dry joke, lightly patting the salarian on the back, wondering if the salarian would understand his sudden attitude change. He was no Mordin Solus, but he understood the attitude shift completely.

"Shepard, let me tell you a long understood belief among salarians. Our species creates only two types of people: those that know we die quickly, so we live every day like we will never get the opportunity again. Those are the ones who usually join STG and other research necessity to helping our people. The other type of salarian is constantly aware they are coming closer to death, and attempt to do anything to achieve just one extra day. You can understand that those are more often than not the politicians."

Shepard nodded his head, getting Jondum's point. "All I was trying to do _was_ give everyone an extra day."

"Don't worry about salarian people knowing your efforts. Mordin Solus had many favors to cash in before his death, he made sure that information regarding everything Normandy crew went through will be common knowledge for future generations. He also left something else for you, Major Kirrahe is in possession of it."

"If it's that datapad containing Mordin's 'songs' and ramblings, it's already been delivered." Shepard made sure that Jondum saw the air quotes he used when saying the word "songs."

"No no, something else he was working on while dealing with Krogan females, said it would change humanity for the better."

That sounded odd, leaving Shepard to quietly wonder exactly what Mordin would have set in place. He was a good friend, and his death shook him hard, even though the salarian willingly sacrificed himself to cure the genophage and atone for his past actions.

After a minute of comfortable silence had passed, the shuttle's info screen activated to show the face of a turian C-Sec officer.

"Spectre Bau, we have your shuttle tagged and ready for landing, please land at the designated coordinates."

"Coordinates received. ETA two minutes. Please have officers ready at dock to chaperone four apprehended individuals to detention cells."

"Yes sir, officers will be standing by."

"I also have Commander Shepard in the shuttle."

"Wait, did you just -" the turian's shocked expression disappeared as Jondum cut the video feed, a flashing and beeping indicating the C-Sec officer was immediately trying to reestablish connection, an attempt that would go unanswered. Shepard just looked at his Spectre colleague and smirked. _Good to know someone who's been through the same hell I have also has a sense of humor._

* * *

The passengers of the shuttle could hear the muffled conversation of Shepard and Jondum, the details lost on all occupants. They just assumed it probably had something to do with Spectre formalities and the rebuilding effort. Surprisingly, in all her years in space the only other Spectre Miranda had even seen in person was Ashley Williams. Outside of a subconscious jealousy at the other woman in Shepard's life, she internally questioned the actual merit behind the Lieutenant Commander receiving such a prestigious position in the galaxy. Thanks to the information Shepard provided Miranda during the war about the Cerberus Coup, it seemed as though she was used by Councilor Udina simply to be a pawn as he attempted to replace the Councilors with those more in tune with Cerberus' indoctrinated ideals, Udina recognizing she would place rank and duty above any connection she previously had with Shepard. _At least she believed in John when it mattered, and didn't pull the trigger._

The crew was startled as the cockpit partition was pushed open, Shepard stepping out into the middle of the passenger hold. He looked at everyone in his crew with a smile, trying to establish that they were entering relatively safe territory. He looked to Zaeed and made a quick motion to discard the cigar, which he did by putting it out on the side hull, letting it fall to the ground to be picked up by someone else.

"Alright everyone, a minute out from docking on the Presidium, grab a prisoner and look alive. Oriana, stay in the middle of our group, it might get a little hectic once we try to establish contact with the Alliance."

The group nodded and prepared for the shuttle to fully land, feeling it turn and descend into a dock waiting for it. As he ordered, each person grabbed their respective prisoner, Shepard making sure to hold up the turian he had shot minutes prior. The turian groaned as he was pulled up, reclined to his fate as C-Sec prisoner for the time being. Surprising everyone, Shepard had administered a small dose of medigel to the turians leg, instantly stopping the slow bleeding and providing a mild anesthetic to make the turian more hospitable to whoever would have to process him in the detention center. He grabbed the turian by the collar, making eye contact as he politely informed, "Can't have you taking away a doctor's valuable medical time when there are others who need more help, right?"

Before the turian could respond, Shepard jumped in with his response "Good, good, I'm glad we're on the same page. The numbness should wear off in an hour or two, hopefully you're a tough enough man to not give anybody any problems." Again Shepard hit the turian back with the macho talk that seemed so natural to alien on the Silversun Strip, knowing full well the human was rubbing salt in the wound.

The shuttle came to a stop, with Jondum Bau activating the doors to open, not before he made his way to the front of the line, no doubt to allow Shepard and his crew a moment to prepare for what they would see.

As the shuttle occupants stepped out they realized they were docked right next to the embassies, the place looking the least damaged of all the areas they had seen on the Citadel to this point. Noticing that this wasn't the only shuttle in the makeshift landing zone (there seemed to be at least half a dozen more, a few being prepped for launch), the group was taken back by how efficient everything seemed to be running. C-Sec officers of all races were seen every fifty feet, directing surviving dignitaries and politicians of their respective homeworlds to the correct embassy locations, a few officers were seen mediating disputes between certain individuals; as the group looked down the hall they saw what seemed to be a makeshift medical center to deal with anyone suffering from the more mundane of injuries, more than likely an attempt to stop a bottleneck on hospital resources.

With the daylight simulator showing the sun in the high noon position, it magnified how much of the lake was actually a lake, any debris that had fallen in during the explosions nearly nine days ago were removed, most likely by the Keepers. Looking down from the landing zone, Shepard saw that the krogan statue was removed, and a few walkways had collapsed, leaving only half of the walkways in any viable condition. To the group's left they saw two C-Sec guards arrive to take the robbers into custody, exchanging brief formalities with Jondum.

"Spectre Bau, we'll take these individuals into custody. Commander Bailey would like to speak to all of you down at the Presidium's walkway, near the Embassy bar."

"That's an odd spot for a command point," Miranda stated.

Bau immediately responded "Odd but central hub for directing cleanup, area allows for many entrances and exits to wards, tower, good place to spread resources out from. Come, let me show you, will make sense in person."

"Hopefully the bar is still stocked so I can get a goddamn drink." Zaeed scoffed. The chances of that were probably next to none in the current climate.

As Jondum started to lead the way, it was obvious that everyone else in the vicinity had noticed Commander Shepard was among the new arrivals. It was something Shepard wasn't really expecting, having been preoccupied with stopping Saren when he became the first human Spectre allowed him to skip over much of the media attention that received, especially among human worlds. Even when he returned to Earth to be placed on trial for the destruction of the Bahak system, the Alliance made sure to avoid a media blitz wherever possible.

Everyone who had an omnitool had activated it, hoping to snap photos and record video as Shepard passed by on his way to the elevator. He tried to pay no attention to it, but it was very disconcerting to him, never really doing the job for notoriety, simply for survival.

Surprisingly, as he entered the elevator and turned around, he saw many omnitools shorting out, their owners voicing mild curses as they tried to reactivate them in time before the elvator doors closed.

Shepard looked puzzled by what happened, then noticed that Kasumi and Miranda had both quietly finished typing into their own omnitools, no doubt providing a short range EMP to give Shepard some privacy. The two women smiled at Shepard knowingly, to which he responded with grateful nod of the head. Unexpectedly, Miranda's left hand found its way into Shepard's, providing gentle pressure and reassurance. They let their hands linger as they waited for the elevator to arrive at the ground level, reluctant to separate as the door opened, the voices of many shouting at one another from across the vast space, a few medical cots being carried by medics as they seemed to rush to a nearby ward entrance.

The more chaotic nature of the ground floor made Shepard relax a bit, realizing he would be able to blend in a bit more, and go unnoticed. Or so he thought.

"**Sheparrrrd!**" Was the loud growl that made its way through what seemed to be the entire Presidium, causing everyone who had exited the elevator to turn to their left in surprise, all but Oriana reaching for their respective weapons. It was unnecessary, as it was simply a big orange krogan running their way, his yet-developed headplate showing multiple scars that weren't there before the war.

"Grunt!" Shepard started to walk towards him, his smile towards his former teammate genuine and sincere, glad that he was able to survive the war. Grunt didn't slow down as he came towards the humans, using his hands to grabbing Shepard by the shoulders and lift him up as easily as an adult lifting a small child. "I'm the only krogan with the privilege of having you as a battlemaster, the man who killed the Reapers!"

The sight was comical to everyone in the area, even to Miranda, who realized that the only reason Grunt would do such a thing was because it was his battlemaster, his leader, who saved the day, and exemplified Grunt's talents to any other krogan for the centuries to come. Plus there was very little anyone in the area could do to stop Grunt until he got this out of his system, acting much like the violent toddler during his days on the Normandy. Oriana looked at the krogan in fear at first, never being this close to one, astonished by just how tall they were, but his enthusiasm seemed infectious and she enjoyed seeing Shepard be so easily tossed about, it was something she might never see again.

Shepard was finally put down, all eyes now firmly on the party. Again, many of the people nearby started to talk amongst themselves and huddled around, wanting to see the Spectre in person. Shepard tried to block it out as he talked to Grunt. "I heard about your exploits in London, Grunt, welcome to the solo Brute killing club. It's very rare and exclusive."

"Heheheh, it also got me some scars too, see?" He pointed at his not-fully developed headplate, the left side having a massive gouge in it where a Brute more than likely struck with its claw-like hand. "Doctors say as my plate grows it will be deformed a bit and grow outwards. Isn't that great? When I headbutt someone I could also cut them!" The sheer joy at doing something to add even more pain to a krogan headbutt gave everyone a shocked look, faking smiles in order to go along with Grunt, not wanting to rain on his parade.

"Good to see you doin' alright, Grunt," Zaeed said as he held his fist out to the krogan who instinctively bumped it, that being all that needed to occur between the two soldiers. The two spent a surprising amount of time on the Normandy's engineering deck swapping out weapons and stories Grunt had implanted in his memories, and were crucial to holding the line at the Collector Base. Mayhem connects to mayhem, it seems.

Grunt looked to make eye contact with Kasumi as well, and gave her a firm head nod, to which the thief did the same. His face had a funny look when he saw Oriana as she tried to step up to him, smiling sheepishly as she wondered if she should introduce herself or wait to be introduced. Shepard noticed Grunt's expression and made the introduction.

"Grunt, this is Oriana, Miranda's younger sister. She's a normal human, play nice." Grunt nodded, attempting to show his diplomacy by offering a hand, which eclipsed Oriana's own, her hand being gently shook with such grace it looked that Miranda's eyes opened up in surprise. _Grunt just gained some goodwill_, Shepard thought, knowing exactly what Miranda was thinking about the whole situation.

"Should have known you were her younger sister, your hair hasn't grown out yet, like my headplate." Grunt pointed to his head with his left hand, her hair with his right. His face seemed to be very proud of himself for figuring out the connection, and with it the sense of pride you get from figuring out something on your own as a child.

Holding in her smile at Grunt's lack of understanding human biology, she just smiled and nodded, everyone else trying to hold back their smiles.

"Shepard, got a hold of Bailey, please follow me." Jondum mentioned as he reappeared near the group, who seemed to disappear during Grunt's arrival in order to debrief, affording Shepard time to reminisce with his teammate.

"On my way. Grunt, if you're just wandering around come with us, play security."

"Heheheheh." Grunt nodded happily, falling in line behind everyone as they made their way to the Embassy Bar.

**I think more than anything, Spectres have seen and been through so much they would sometimes be smartasses, simply because they can be.**

**One other thing I wanted to mention, Kasumi is not a Spectre, it was a joke that Bau made about Kasumi helping out even though she was supposedly dead, hence the specter joke as her being a ghost.**

**Had to work Grunt in somehow, we'll probably see more of him. I'm going to get to everyone, and will try and bring some more action later, so hold on!**


	6. Gearing Up

6: Gearing Up

As the group had nearly reached Commander Bailey's temporary command center, Miranda made her way to Shepard's side, leaving Oriana to the protection of Zaeed and Grunt. They had never talked about it, but both had attempted to keep their relationship professional when it came being in public. However, with their emotional reunion a day ago, any sense of professionalism in that regard seemed to fall by the wayside. In areas where they could they tried to take more time to be together, no matter how few the seconds.

"You really are trying to get the band back together, aren't you, John?" Miranda asked as she came close, Shepard pulling her even closer as he put his hand on her waist.

"I can't help it, my charismatic nature and all oooof-" His dry humor was interrupted by a quick jab from Miranda's elbow, right where the armor plates connect.

As Shepard chuckled at Miranda's public flirtation, his face became stern as he told her with a serious tone, "I'll need them because I bet by the end of the day, the Council is going to ask me to travel back into space."

"Oh cheer up, you'll have me along with you this time." _No matter what anyone says._

"I wouldn't have it any other way, but I'm serious Miri. It will be something about keeping the peace, someone will pick a fight, and we'll be the first called up to avoid other races from beating their chests. Part of me just want to get on a ship and fly away, leave everything behind..."

"Don't be so down on the idea John, as long as you get to pick your crew it could be exactly what you need to stay busy. Unless you want to try being our Councilor..."

"No, ma'm." Shepard said immediately. He had dealt with all the politics he could handle during the Reaper war, and Shepard couldn't really resort to threatening high ranking officials _all_ of the time.

The walk ended as the group came to the Embassy Bar, and what a transformation it was; spread out across the room were consoles that indicated various hotspots in the Citadel, what was working, what wasn't, and various information regarding the ships currently docked and a running tally of various species aboard the Citadel. Commander Bailey immediately stopped talking to an officer and came to shake Shepard's hand, patting him on the back as he did so.

"Commander."

"Commander." The two chuckled at their greetings.

"Shepard, it's great to see you up and about, no doubt thanks to Miss Lawson here." Bailey gave her a thoughtful and thankful look, Miranda providing a response without any artificial formality like she would have done a year ago.

"I have to say the work being done here is pretty impressive."

"It's only here right now, that's the problem. Well, Huerta and the Presidium. We're working our way out from the tower, hopefully the docks will be secure by next week. It's still not the safest area for anyone not part of any military, and those refugees never really had a chance before the Citadel was moved. Many took that opportunity to head into the wards, some with instincts other than just survival."

"Well we just apprehended some people looking to shoot some Duct Rats at the Gold Coast Casino, they were probably part of that rogue refugee element."

"Humans?"

"Two asari and two turians, the asari had some decent cloaks."

"Mmmmm, the asari had reported a few soldiers go AWOL after Thessia fell, maybe they roped some rogue turians or mercs into trying to get a quick credit. The Silversun Strip hasn't really had any activity for the past week, I'll just have to chalk this up to you being awake again, Shepard."

"You should be a councilor, Bailey."

"Speaking of which..." _Here it goes..._

"The councilors would actually like to see you up in the tower. Give you a medal. Or arrest you. It's something though. At least you'll have someone on your side, Ambassador Osoba is the temporary human councilor at the moment."

Shepard nodded his head at the news, glad that someone trustworthy like Osoba was given the chance. _He can't be much worse than our second councilor._

"Before I go anywhere, I've got to get in contact with Admiral Hackett, Bailey. I need to know the Normandy's still around."

"Admiral Hackett should be easy to contact, the _Kilimanjaro_ is right outside keeping that arm in place with the _Benjamin Davis_, _Destiny Ascension_ and _Kwunu_, not to mention what seems to be half the quarian fleet still in Earth's orbit."

As Bailey pointed out the bar's windows, it was easy to see, the four dreadnaughts and numerous liveships and cruisers were stationed along the arm, no doubt doing something more than simply parking their ships to keep the arm from floating away. Shepard and the group had never seen anything like it, this weird sense of teamwork of ships trying to handle something that big of an undertaking. Even weirder was the fact that it seemed to be working.

"Well I'll be a striped pyjak..." Shepard said as Grunt seemed to, well, grunt in approval.

"Whatever they're doing is working, and Admiral Hackett is having the same group that worked on the Crucible attempt to reattach the arm. Shouldn't take as long though."

"Now, let's see about patching you through to the big man," Bailey tapped on his omnitool as he sent the secure channels to Shepard. "You'll have to save the QEC talk for later, it's got a waiting list so we'll have to make do with normal channel communications. Patching you through now."

Activating his omnitool, Shepard saw the blurred but happy face of Admiral Hackett. "Commander Shepard, congratulations on seeing this war through to the end."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Let me be the first to inform you that the Normandy made contact about two hours ago, and everyone seems to have made it through the war in one piece. Lieutenant Commander Williams says the ship should be ready to fly within hours, and will head straight for Earth if the relays allow it."

"That's great news, admiral." Shepard couldn't contain his relief that his crew, his family made it through the war in one piece.

"Other than that, Commander, I really have nothing else to tell you that you probably don't already know by now. I take it Miss Lawson has filled you in?" The admiral's guess at who would be by his side was accurate, as he suspected there was something to their relationship beyond a Commander and his XO.

"Correct, sir. Is there anything that you need me -"

"You have orders to stand down, commander. Until the Normandy arrives back, hopefully within 48 hours, you are officially on shore leave in the Alliance's eyes."

"Sir I'm sure there's something-"

"If there are any fires we need you to put out, we'll inform you. Until then, you've earned a break." There was no joking in the admiral's tone, he clearly knew how much Shepard had sacrificed over the past months, working himself to the point of a complete breakdown on more than one occasion. While he never had the same connection that Admiral Anderson had with Shepard, he respected the Spectre more than anyone else in the Alliance, and no matter what he has to go through at the moment trying to get the Alliance back on solid footing, it was not a burden Shepard needed to carry, at least at this moment. He only prayed the council would afford him the same opportunity.

After having been interrupted the second time, Shepard acknowledged the admiral's orders with a stiff response that harkened back to his N-school training days, "Yes, sir!"

"Have fun, Shepard." With that last sentence, Hackett closed the channel, leaving Shepard and Miranda to stare at each other with a look that confirmed both of them heard something different in that sentence, almost playful.

Shepard exhaled deeply, "that's one boss down, let's see what the other four have to say."

Miranda just smiled, trying to let him realize it was ok to be off duty, that he didn't have to hold the weight of worlds on his shoulder. Not during the war, not now, no matter how much the guilt seemed to eat away at him.

"I'm going to go see the council on my own," Shepard quietly said, not wanting to have an argument with Miranda. Her eyes immediately showed her confusion, trying to read out Shepard's intent, but his stern face, which he seemed to be able to turn on and off with uncanny speed, told her she wasn't going to change his mind.

"Why?" Miranda was genuinely surprised by this decision, and like attachment, she didn't do well with surprises.

Shepard put his arms around her waist, pulling her in close to reassure her that even though his face was stern, he wasn't trying to close himself off. "It's best if it's just me and Jondum, Spectres only. Despite saving them all the time they've always looked for things to nitpick instead of listening to me. I honestly don't expect them to change now that the Reapers are gone. No one by my side means no one they can use to shoot me down."

"It also means no one is there to help defend you, you jackass."

"Miri, I told you, there's a good chance we go back into space soon. I just want to clear the air first." He reached in to kiss her lips, the brunette not resisting the move at all. It was a short but comforting kiss, attempting to put her mind at ease and to trust him, yet again.

As he pulled away, he whispered "See what you can do to help for the time being, I'm sure they need your expertise in the medical tents. Give Ori a chance to look around too, she's got three bodyguards now."

Miranda nodded her head slightly, not seeing any real fault with what Shepard said. They both slipped away from each other as they moved to their respective tasks, meeting Bailey at his wall of information that Oriana and Jondum were looking at as well to pass the time during Hackett's call.

"Bailey, tell the council I'm on my way up to see them now. Ori, if you want to look around feel free, Miranda's going to go help where she can for the time being. Just make sure you have some of the three musketeers there with you, ok?"

Shepard pointed to Zaeed, Kasumi, and Grunt, who sat near the bar for the time being, catching up with the krogan who seemed to be moving his hands around a lot to explain how much he destroyed over the past months. Zaeed noticed Shepard was looking his way and raised a glass, his mission to find liquor seemed to be a success.

"Of course Shepard. I don't mean to be burden anyone, it's just that-"

"Miranda's protective, I know, you don't have to apologize. You did nothing wrong, don't forget that. And please, call me John." He playfully saluted her to let her know she needn't be so timid around him. She smiled much like she did when he and Miranda reunited, and returned the salute.

Leaving his group, and giving Miranda one last comforting look as she came over to talk to her sister, Shepard left to the Presidium Tower, Jondum a few steps behind him.

As Shepard headed down the walkways, ignoring those who recognized and shouted his name, he remembered a prayer he would hear from the nuns who ran the orphanage he lived in for a short while on Earth: _God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference._

* * *

"Prangley! Move your ass, get this rubble cleared away!" Jack yelled at the Grissom Academy student as he made his way to his instructor, tossing his finished rations into the nearest trash receptacle in the remains of one of Hammer's FOBs.

"Yes, ma'am! I'll take over from here."

"I swear kid, London got blown to hell and back and you're worried about littering right now?" Jack didn't let up in her dressing down of her steward, although it was hard to tell if she really meant anything she said, the student was smiling lightly as he started to clear the rubble from a nearby barrier as allied forces attempted to move a convoy further into the city.

Since the Reapers were destroyed nearly two weeks ago, Jack and her students shifted from support to...support, using their talents to either clear rubble and look for survivors or allow the more tech savvy students to reestablish communication hubs in the city. In many ways it was busy work, but they didn't have anywhere else to go, Grissom Academy being destroyed when the Reapers arrived around Elysium.

The students did good during the war, both on the Citadel and in London, keeping barriers up and ammo modified that no doubt saved countless lives. If they had been on the front lines, Jack wondered if they would have made it out alive in that final push. She had heard that Shepard survived and saved the day, like he was prone to do, but nearly everyone else wasn't so lucky. Who knows, maybe Rodriguez might have gotten injured again, and Shepard would have tried to help her and been incinerated by the beam, and the galaxy was done for.

Jack made her way back into the abandoned building the group had been using for the past day, working together with some other alliance marines who converged on the area as their respective units met up at the intersection. She knew one of the marines well, he used to work for Cerberus.

"Jacob, the kids are about to clear a way for the convoy to get through, what do you need us to do now?"

Jacob had just finished talking to David Archer, who was busy rigging a comm tower to announce alliance rescue and reconstruction efforts in the area. It had been two weeks, and any survivors in the city were either rescued or found their way to shuttles to be taken to the countryside, but the possibility still remained some citizens were still hiding.

Even more worrying at the moment was the idea that any explosives previously rigged to stop Reaper ground forces would become a problem for the very people it was meant to help. It wasn't a common occurrence on the streets, but in the ruined buildings there were reports of squads being injured. Or worse. Jack even heard an explosion off in the distance the other day.

Jacob made his way to Jack's position, to look at the students biotically moving what they could. "Our squad's orders were to clean this road out until we hit the end of the street. Get the students into their own Mako and keep going."

"This is bullshit, Jacob, and you know it. We need something more to do than just lift rubble. Can't we get a shuttle and head to somewhere that's less of a shithole?" Jack pointed up at the sky, where not one second went by that didn't have a shuttle darting by, either to pick up or drop off something.

"It's better than fighting killing machines with no rest in sight." It was the standard response to anything these days, and couldn't be argued with by anyone, except the krogans.

"You never realize how used to just doing a job and flying out you get, leaving the cleanup to someone else," Jack explained as she flashed her biotics, picking up small pieces of rubble and crushing it while she talked, taking her frustration out on the rocks. She then opened her hand as if to shoo the dust away, letting it catch in the wind.

"I understand, Jack. I've got a lady up in orbit with a baby in her belly, and all I want to do is get back and hug her. But unless someone at this party looks to pick a fight, might as well just do what you can to kill the time."

"Yeah, yeah, you never shut up about that kid. I'm going to start punching you every time you talk about it, just to give me something to do."

"All clear, ma'am!" Prangley yelled as he made eye contact with Jack, giving the thumbs up. She could see Rodriguez and the Bellarmine siblings just push a caved out wall to the side, their teamwork being incredibly impressive.

Jack walked around the corner of the building she was in, and whistled to the nearest marine who passed the info down the street until the start of Mako's were heard in the horizon, the convoy moving on.

As the students returned to the old building, more than likely a old time pub preserved for the sake of remembering England's history, everyone sat down and grabbed rations, waiting for the convoy to pass as they waited for their own truck to arrive. One of the students, Octavia, was busy playing with Jack's pet varren, Eezo, who had been sitting in the corner of the pub, his enthusiasm for the mundane work reflecting that of his master.

"Good work, kids, you might be bored out of your minds but your teamwork is getting seamless. Maybe I should have pressed Shepard to put you guys on the front lines, huh?" Jack said with a smirk, knowing anything they said now was cancelled out by the shellshock looks on their faces during that initial push into London.

"Professor, searching the alliance channels it seems that Commander Shepard is awake, having just checked in with Admiral Hackett four hours ago." David Archer responded in his slightly emotionless voice, a slight smile on his face hearing the news of the man who saved him from unspeakable pain.

"No shit? Took that asshole long enough to wake up, probably spent a few days in bed with the cheerleader..." To everyone else it seemed normal banter from Jack, but Jacob picked up on the almost friendly way the biotic said "cheerleader," wondering if the two really did try to bury the hatchet, and not in each other's backs.

"I can't believe he did it, the guy must be bulletproof!" Rodriguez said in amazement, not knowing that Shepard had died three years ago.

"Seriously, and we met the guy! Who can honestly say that?" Reiley added.

"Can you imagine the tail he's going to get for the rest of his life?" Prangley added, his adolescent mind focusing on the only thing that really mattered.

Jacob and Jack looked at each other with that last comment, knowing that Miranda would have her hands full making sure everyone knew Shepard was off limits. They just smirked a bit, not wanting to hurt the young student's daydreams of what (or who) he would do were he in Shepard's position.

As everyone waited for the convoy to pass, which felt like hours, not the minutes it actually was, Jack's omnitool flashed, which she immediately responded to. At least was a break from the monotony. What she didn't see was that Jacob's omnitool also flashed at the same time.

"This is Jack."

"Jack, Sanders. Listen, forward me your coordinates, I have a shuttle with your name on it to take you and the students up to the Citadel. Looks like someone pretty high up pulled some strings and is looking to reestablish Grissom Academy."

"No shit, ma'am?" Jack's swearing was overlooked by Sanders, accepting it as the genuine surprise that came with something no one was expecting to hear, especially so soon after the Reapers were destroyed.

"I'm as surprised as you are. When I say high up, I mean directly from the Council. Looks like you're a better teacher than you thought, Jack."

Jack patched in her coordinates, leading Kahlee to acknowledge. "Coordinates received. Stay where you are, a shuttle will be on it's way to pick you up. I'll see you on the Citadel, Jack. Sanders out."

Jack couldn't help but smile as she closed her omnitool, slapping her hands together in joy as she turned around. When she turned around she saw Jacob in front of her, a smile also on his face. She just assumed it was something to do with Taylor's unborn kid again, and paid it no mind.

"Sayonara, Taylor, me and the kids are out of the cleanup business."

Jacob gave her a slightly confused look. "No kidding, so am I. Something about meeting up on the Citadel, to provide security detail for a Council mission."

The two looked at themselves for a moment, trying to put together the pieces of information the other had just provided. There was only one real answer, as Jacob snapped his finger upon putting the puzzle together, Jack's raised eyebrows showing the same solution. In unison, they blurted out the answer.

"Shepard."

* * *

**3 hours earlier**

Shepard and Jondum reached the council tower relatively quickly after leaving Bailey to continue the coordination efforts, it was the security detail that ate up the time. both entering the tower and exiting on the upper level there were checkpoints, C-Sec making sure no one, not even Spectres, came through unabated. It was understandable, but ridiculous.

Upon reaching the tower's highest level, Shepard was impressed that very little seemed to have changed. On the ground there were scratches where barricades had been, a few of the trees were gone, removed because they most likely received damage, and the walls were pocked with bullet fire, but on the whole Bailey did a very good job holding the line. _We could have used him on the Collector Base..._

As Shepard made his way up the stairs, Jondum tapped him arm to direct him to a side room to the left, as it seemed standing in front of the councilors like some sort of tribunal was not the right thing to do in the current climate.

Entering the guarded room, the Spectres saluted the councilors, who had risen from their seats to greet their two operatives.

Councilor Osoba was the first to shake Shepard's hand, his warm smile showing no hostility, simply glad that the man was alive. "Commander Shepard, it's great to see you again. Or should I say _Captain_ Shepard. Don't tell Admiral Hackett you heard that, act surprised," Osoba joked.

"Captain," Councilor Sparatus was next to shake the human's hand. He looked much more frail than he had been six months prior, the strains of the war showing through his turian skin. Despite the hostility he gave Shepard earlier in his time as a Spectre, his face showed a sense of humility, something Shepard could only pick up after seeing the same face on Garrus through the years, particularly when he found him on Omega playing Archangel.

Councilor Valern did not shake Shepard's hand, but it was not out of any disrespect. He simply granted a bow of his head to the Spectre, his hands staying close to his body, the salarian's hood covering the clearly aged salarian's eyes. He never really understood salarians and their shorter life spans, but it seemed that this was a clear case of the councilor's time might be running out, no doubt his near assassination and the capture of the citadel by the Reapers accelerating the process.

Finally, Councilor Tevos greeted Shepard, taking his hand in hers, a sincere motherly look on her face, filled with apology. Her eyes seemed to carry with it a look of caution, perhaps even pleading, to not say anything about the prothean beacon, at least at this time.

"Please Captain, have a seat. You too, Spectre Bau." The councilors sat on one side of the long glass table, various information screens embedded in the table to pass between the four as they pleased, the wall behind them filled with various maps and planets checking in. Shepard and Bau sat on the other side of the table, both sitting straight up, their hands in their laps waiting for the Council to begin their meeting.

The asari spoke for the Council, "Captain Shepard, before we begin with your debriefing, let me say that we are sorry. Had we listened to your warnings without the politics of our planets at the forefront of our minds, we would have saved more lives than we will ever be able to atone for. Our job is to protect all Council space, and we neglected that duty. The billions dead are our burden to carry, not yours." The rest of the Council agreed, nodding their heads, although Osoba had very little to concern himself with in this instance.

Stunned by this outright apology, and fully expecting to have to defend his actions that caused damage to the relays and the Citadel proper, even breaking into the Citadel Archives, Shepard simply nodded his head, accepting the Council's mea culpa. He didn't want to gloat, no matter how much that feeling attempted to spring out of his mouth, realizing that now was not the time. Besides, he still knew something else was coming.

"Now, we have information from various sources about what occurred during the assault in London, leading up to the beam that connected your planet with the Citadel. If you would Captain, please explain what happened after that.

"Yes, Councilor."

With that opening, Shepard began to tell his journey, from Harbinger's attack, to the Normandy evacuating his teammates, to confronting the Illusive Man in the bowels of the Citadel. No detail was left out, not even the absurd construct the Catalyst AI used to speak to Shepard. As he told what he experienced to the Council, he could see some of them expressing doubts with their faces, even Jondum seemed to press his long finger to his lips, taking in this information, trying to decide if Shepard was completely remembering what occurred.

As Shepard finished his debriefing, he made sure to recognize the sacrifice of his teammates who had fallen. Mordin. Thane. Legion. Anderson. They were all important in getting Shepard to the point where he could destroy the Reapers, and made sure that they knew it. On top of that, making sure the council knew of his Normandy crew, and their valuable service and why they were a necessity to winning the war.

Having finished relaying his experience, Shepard waited in silence as the Council looked at him, and then to their notes, the flickering of the table screens showing ideas and notes being passed between one another, their hands covering their lips as they pondered the next course of action.

Shepard looked to Bau, wondering if even a fellow Spectre would believe what he just said, no matter how absurd some of it sounded. Oddly enough, the salarian smiled, using his hands to illustrate too much information going into his head, and then opening up his hands to get the point across that his head exploded. _What is it about salarians who were in the STG being so...wacky?_

Councilor Sparatus cleared his throat, signaling for the Spectres that a decision had been made.

"Captain Shepard, we are truly grateful for everything you have done for us..."

_But..._

"...and we appreciate you sparing no detail in what you experienced first hand in destroying the Reapers..."

_But..._

"...and if anyone deserves to enjoy a moment of respite it _is_ you..."

_BUT..._

"...but at this time you must understand that your skills are needed to maintain the unity of our species, both in your local cluster and the galaxy as a whole."

_Bingo._

"However, we understand that at this time you are still not completely healed from surviving the destruction of the Crucible. In order to make sure you are fit for continued duty, we have set up a mission of moderate importance in order to gauge your recovery. Councilor Osoba, if you will."

Shepard looked to his fellow human, wondering exactly what would be considered "moderate" at the moment.

"Captain, our information gathered from the Exodus Cluster after the Reapers were destroyed indicates that there is a remaining Cerberus station located in the orbit of the planet Zion."

As Osoba was talking a map of the Exodus Cluster came into place, zooming in on the large gas giant. "Specifically, around the moon of Asphodel."

Again the screen zoomed in to show the redish moon, alongside the picture of the moon was a station that looked very similar to the Lazarus Station that Shepard was brought back to life on. Where the Lazarus Station was more vertical in orbit, this station seemed more horizontal in its layout, showing a size that might be good for say, an academy of some sorts...

"This station was providing advanced research to further help in the indoctrination of humans and even other species to assist in Cerberus' goals. Your mission is simple, to eliminate any resistance on the station, and to make sure any and all information is destroyed completely."

Shepard nodded his head, accepting the mission, but as he stood up he cleared his throat to make a suggestion. He recognized he had a bit of political capital to play with at the moment, and wanted to see what he could cash in, just to test the credibility of what appeared to be a much more receptive Council.

"Councilors, if I may offer a suggestion to the mission."

"Of course, Captain." Valern said, his voice strained but clearly showing a willingness to listen.

"I have been in a station similar to this, when I was brought back to life. While it might not be to capacity now, it can easily be the home for nearly 500 people, and I would like to recommend that it be the new location for restarting Grissom Academy."

The Council silently listened, implying Shepard should continue.

"As you know, Grissom Academy was the location where human adolescents were trained in their biotic ability, as well as being a place to cultivate the brightest minds of future generations. Because of the station's relatively close location to Eden Prime, it can easily be moved to that planet's orbit, allowing for greater security. A few of the students from Grisson Academy actually helped in the assault on London, providing much needed biotic support. Their support was key to helping save lives, and if we can get the academy back up and running, the future gains will help not only humanity but all species." Shepard made sure to emphasize that all species would benefit.

Finishing his pitch, the Council nodded, and looked to one another, and down at their respective notes on the table. A brief moment passed, until Councilor Osoba looked at Shepard with a smile.

"A good suggestion, Captain. Your mission has added the goal of preserving the station so that it may be the future home of Grissom Academy. I take it you already have a crew that you wish to use?"

"Yes, sir. I have been in contact with Admiral Hackett, and he has informed me that the Normandy is on route to the Citadel, to dock for repairs. If it makes the relay jump it should be here in 48 hours. If repairs for the Normandy are prioritized, we can depart 48 hours after that. If this mission can wait that long, I would prefer to use the crew that got me through the war."

The Council nodded in approval, Sparatus adding "Despite current recovery efforts, getting the Normandy back to fighting condition will be a good point of morale for all species, they understand the importance of the ship to the galactic community."

"Agreed. Congratulations, Captain, your mission will start when the Normandy docks. Until then I hope you can occupy yourself in a manner becoming of a Spectre. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Councilor Tevos." Shepard saluted the Council, turned to shake hands with Jondum, and headed for the exit.

As he left the room, he heard the Council speak to Jondum "Commander Bau, your next assignment is to investigate a rogue element of STG located on Halegeuse..."

* * *

Waiting in the elevator to return to the main level of the Presidium, Shepard was somewhat stunned at what just transpired. _The Council, working WITH me? What's the catch?_ He couldn't help but wonder if this was just a one-time thing, his capital already cashed in, or whether the war finally woke the politicians up from their stubborn positions, realizing they only way forward is together.

As Shepard thought about this, he immediately attempted to call up Admiral Hackett. The connection was immediate.

"Commander, I take it you need to learn what the word 'rest' entails..."

"I understand it completely sir, I have 48 hours to myself." Shepard couldn't help but smirk as he heard his former rank mentioned, wondering if he could keep up the charade a bit longer.

"What I was calling for, sir, is to have the following individuals sent up to the Citadel for a mission to reestablish Grissom Academy. I'm sending you their information now."

Shepard made sure to include Jack and her students, Kahlee Sanders, and even Jacob and his girlfriend Brynn. Steve Cortez was also on the list, the shuttle pilot surviving a run in with a harvester after dropping Shepard, Garrus, and James off in London. Shepard would attempt to contact Samara tomorrow, the Justicar probably being on some mission of importance for the asari. Who knows, maybe she's on the Citadel too.

"I'm sure we can get a hold of them, Shepard, last report I saw they were all in London."

"Understood, sir."

"I expect to not hear from you for the next 48 hours. Hackett out."

Coincidentally, that conversation also ended the elevator ride, Shepard stepping out to face the Presidium and it's inhabitants once more. _I wonder if Miri has ever kissed a captain before..._

**I've got a bigger story set up, but for the time being I'm trying to move the pieces to their correct location without making it be such a drastic jump. Next chapter will be more character focused as opposed to plot centric.**


	7. Blueshift Shuffle

7: Blueshift Shuffle

Shepard did his best to avoid the citizens who gathered in the area, C-Sec trying to accommodate the Spectre. Even as Shepard waved to them, not ignoring them but simply trying to show he had other places to be, the people continued to take pictures, screaming his name in praise, although he could hear the voices of those yelling out that he didn't do enough to help various worlds.

Those were words that hit him deep, even though they came from no one he knew. Despite knowing he did do everything in his power to help, many were too biased in their views to recognize this fact. He wanted to lash out, even punch those who would accuse him of not doing enough, but he realized that would only fan the flames of his critics, no doubt planning new ways to discredit him.

Walking towards the medical tents, Shepard looked around for Miranda. It was a station that was full of doctors setting casts, continually running scans, and in the far corner he detected an area for surgery, for the more immediate concerns. These weren't soldiers being worked on, these were civilians, many of them either children or the elderly.

Shepard walked down the main row, keeping his eyes on the lookout for a brunette in black armor, all the while trying to smile and nod to those who would recognize him, attempting to lift their spirits with a confident gaze that showed they would all persevere.

Not keeping his eyes in front of him during his search, he bumped into an asari nurse who was pushing a cart to a perpendicular aisle. Realizing that the nurse was falling back, and the cart was also on its way to the ground, Shepard's years of combat instincts kicked in, albeit in a much more...pedestrian manner.

He reached for the cart first with his right hand, providing a fast enough jolt of force in the opposite direction to right itself, however much of the equipment started to slowly travel in the air. As the pieces were in the air, Shepard made sure to turn on the balls of his feet to keep the cart under the airborne equipment, all the while taking his left hand to grab the nurse before she fell, pulling her firmly but gently towards him, rotating his hand to guide her into rotating as well. Continuing to keep a handle on the cart, hearing the clank of the equipment land back on top, the nurse continued to spin into Shepard, finally resting her free hand on his chest to stop herself from spinning. To the injured citizens who witnessed the last few seconds, it looked much more like a choreographed dance move than the Captain trying to save face.

"I'm terribly sorry about that ma'am, my mind was elsewhere." Shepard said with a cool smile as he stared at the asari, her blushing being evident even under her light blue skin. As the cots nearby were filled with people applauding at what they just saw, she stuttered out a reply as she was unable to stop staring at his eyes, "Th...thank you, Commander."

Shepard continued to give her a reassuring smile as he slowly pulled the cart from behind him, back to the nurse who had finally (and perhaps stubbornly) let go of Shepard's chest, attempting to regain her composure.

"You wouldn't be able to direct me to a black haired woman wearing black armor, would you?" Shepard asked politely in order to give the nurse an attempt to shake off what had just occurred.

"Yes! She's right down that aisle, um, staring at us. At me." The asari pointed in Miranda's direction, who had been running a diagnostic scan on a human child when the near accident occurred. Her eyes were narrowed, showing a clear sign of jealousy, attempting to stab the asari with daggers from 10 meters away.

"Um, I...I should go now. Thank you Commander, for everything!" With that the nurse continued down her original path, taking another turn to move out of sight.

Shepard smiled as he saw Miranda, but her face now turned the daggers onto him. He hadn't seen this face on Miranda since she thought Kelly Chambers had attempted to flirt her way into Shepard's cabin during their Collector mission.

Attempting to diffuse the situation, Shepard allowed his face to give her a suave smile as he put his arm around her waist. Despite her eyes attempting to burn out his brain, she willingly let herself be pulled in by him.

"What's got my favorite girl angry?"

"Seeing her boyfriend wrap _another_ woman under his spell," Miranda replied coolly.

"Would you rather I just let her fall to the ground, with all that equipment?"

"Love and war, John. Sometimes sacrifices must be made," She dryly said as she took her left hand to his chin, pinching it with her thumb, sending a small biotic push through it.

As Shepard shrugged off the pinch, acting as though it was exponentially more painful than it was, he titled his head as he leaned in to kiss her, Miranda's right arm pulling his head towards her. Despite the jealousy at what Shepard just pulled off to help the asari, it seemed to make Miranda rather hungry for Shepard's attention. Shepard could feel Miranda's biotics kicking in, hearing the soft sound that came with their activation slowly covering the two of them until they were interrupted by the very kid Miranda was checking up on.

"Ewww, why would you kiss her?!" The little boy asked, his left cheek sporting a bandage, his buzz cut head showing a few other scabs. No doubt he survived an explosion somewhere on the Citadel after the beam fired, probably injured by falling glass.

Shepard broke off the kiss, Miranda still showing a desire to continue but understanding the pause. He looked at the kid as he bent down on one knee to be at his eye level, giving him a reassuring smile that caused the kid to return the look before he even spoke.

"Sometimes you find a girl who makes you feel happy no matter what happens, and you just want to be around her. And when being near her isn't enough, you want to kiss her all the time." Miranda was listening to what Shepard was saying intently, trying to hide her face as it grew in a red twinge of embarrassment while Shepard explained his feelings.

"That's silly, you'd never get anything done kissing all the time!"

His face going from smile to shock after hearing those words, he looked at the child and nodded his head in disbelief. "I can't argue with that logic, looks like we're done, Miri." Shepard turned to Miranda, encouraging her to play along with a quick wink.

She nodded, her face showing brief signs of pain. "I guess it's over then. But when you have someone that makes you feel happy, you get really strong inside, like you're able to lift a mountain."

"Is that how you defeated the Reapers?" The kid was young, probably no older than seven, but he clearly knew who Shepard was, what he did.

Shepard nodded with a confident smile. "You bet. And you know what also helped?" Shepard took the bandage off the boy's cheek, revealing a small scar. "A scar. They make girls think you're tougher than a krogan. See this one right here?" Shepard pointed to bridge of his nose, pointing out the scar he received in the Collector Base that was only slightly visible today, "It's what helped me get this girl."

With that line Miranda put her hands on Shepard's shoulders, giving the boy a nod to confirm that it really was what won her over.

"I see..." The boy said, his eyes looking at the ground with conviction, as though he instantly gained years of wisdom with this conversation.

As Shepard smiled at the kid, his mother appeared from down the aisle, her eyes lighting up as she saw him. "Kyle, were you good for the nice doctor?"

Miranda simply smiled at the mother with sincerity, attempting to take her mind off one of the smaller things going on right now.

"He was a gentleman. The scan showed he's in good health, just a small scar on his cheek, use a small bit of this medigel once a day to help it and the other scabs so he doesn't pick at them."

The mother nodded her head in thanks as she took the medigel in one hand, her son's hand in the other, gesturing for him to get off the cot and to head for their home.

"Thanks for the help, Commander Shepard!" The boy waved as the two walked down the aisle towards the open area in the middle of the Presidium. A man, no doubt the boy's father, picked him up and carrying him as the trio made their way to their home, wherever it may be.

"I never knew you were so good with kids, John."

"I didn't know either." Shepard got back to his feet to see Miranda giving him a yearning look, something about what just happened seemed to click into place in her mind.

He tried very hard to shrug off the look and keep their desires to more congenial displays of public affection, knowing the intent behind those piercing blue eyes, making a note mentally to make it up to Miranda this evening.

Trying to change the subject, he gave he praise with what he just saw. "You look like you found something to occupy your time," pointing to all the doctors in the area who were helping out people.

"It's nothing as tough as putting you back together, since most of the people here either have minor scrapes or were simply checking up on set injuries like broken bones."

The two began to walk back towards the open area, back to where Bailey's base. Again the people in the area took notice as they left the medical area. This only sped up Shepard and Miranda's walk.

"I spoke to the Council, and we've got ourselves a mission. Nothing major, just a test run to see if I'm back to Spectre specifications."

"When do we depart, Captain?"

"Hopefully by the time the Normandy returns in 48 hours. Wait. Did you just..."

"I read your e-mails, and I patched myself into your omnitool while you were up there."

"You wicked, wicked woman."

Stopping their walk, she pursed her lips together, whispering seductively into his ear. "Your promotion deserves some celebration tonight, wouldn't you agree?"

Shepard's hands went to her hips, his look providing all the confirmation she needed.

"Good, I'm glad we got that taken care of. Rest tonight, surgery tomorrow."

"...I'm sorry?"

"I asked Kasumi to pick up some implant modules to replace everything that you burned out. You'll need them the way you always take fire. Don't give me that look, it's not major surgery."

"You spy on me, you cut me open all the time, this relationship sure seems to be different from all the others."

"And your smart mouth shouldn't be making those kinds of statements to the person cutting you open."

Taking Miranda's hand in his, Shepard continued the walk towards Bailey's outpost. As they arrived, they noticed that Zaeed was still in the corner at the bar, talking the ear off of one of the C-Sec guards nearby, constantly using his hands to make the shape of a rectangle for some unknown reason.

Bailey noticed that Shepard had returned, seeing the look on Shepard's face that showed he was content with the meeting that had occurred.

"Commander, it looks like your meeting went better than expected."

"I guess the Citadel being stolen scared them into finally taking my advice into consideration."

"You should have seen their faces after that beam fired, I swear it was like they all prayed to whoever they believed in and promised to be better people or something. Looks like Sparatus will have to break things off with mistress."

"The Normandy should arrive within 48 hours, can you make sure there's a dock available for priority repairs and resupply. Council gave a mission for the coming days, the sooner we leave the sooner another ship can dock."

"Understood, Commander. We'll designate a dock in the Alliance zone to stay open for the Normandy. If you're heading back to Silversun let me designate a shuttle for you." Bailey's omnitool started to flash, using his clearance to pave the way through regulations.

"Thanks, Bailey. And let any of my squadmates who arrive know where to find us."

"On it, Shepard. Don't forget to take one of those crates on your way out, that should have all the rations your squad needs to keep you afloat for the next few days, should feed a platoon."

"Good, because that's about how many are going to be around." Bailey couldn't tell if Shepard was joking or not with that deadpan response, although realizing the company the Spectre kept it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

Shepard and Bailey saluted each other as they returned to their tasks, motioning with his finger for Zaeed to finish up and meet up with he and Miranda.

Making his way to the crate of rations, Shepard lifted it up with relative ease, not expecting it to be so light. As he lifted it onto his shoulder, Miranda gave him a look of concern, looking to see if he was wincing or experiencing pain in any way.

"John, that's a 50 kg crate, be careful you don't throw your back out."

"I feel fine, Miri. We had to carry them all the time in N-school, it's like muscle memory." With the gene therapy that soldiers receive, on top of the remaining bits of heavy muscle and bone weave that survived the Crucible beam, along with his downtime weightlifting with James, Shepard was more than capable of handling the weight with ease, his armor providing a nice cushion as the crate sat on his shoulder. He used his other arm to allow Miranda to lead down the stairs, heading back to the shuttle landing zone. Miranda just rolled her eyes and activated her omnitool, looking to get in contact with the others to meet at their arrival on the Presidium.

As Zaeed came by, he slapped Shepard on the back, impressed by his speedy recovery.

"Shepard, got a hold of some shield barriers, can help secure the apartment windows for the next few days. I'll meet up with you at the shuttle bays, alright?"

"Good move, Zaeed." The mercenary threw his latest cigar in front of him as he stamped it down, heading off to a nearby requisition station.

Moving to the elevator to head up a few levels, Miranda and Shepard waited for the others to arrive. Kasumi had showed up with a cylindrical tube that contained the modules Miranda requested, while Oriana, with Grunt right behind her, came into Miranda's view. Oriana's smile looked like she had spent her time productively, Grunt keeping his face stern and intimidating to ward off anyone else.

As Zaeed returned with two shield generators in his hands, he nodded to Shepard to hit the button, everyone piling in, the space much more cramped than before, no doubt because replacing a salarian with a krogan, on top of various supplies, limited the space inside.

In one of the cramped corners, Shepard still held the ration crate on his shoulder, Miranda made sure to be in front of him, pushing her back more into his chest than he expected, letting her hair linger near his face. It made Shepard be unable to avoid taking in her natural aroma, which felt like it consisted of some mixture of citrus and another clean smell, almost powder like.

Being unable to see her face for the time being, he didn't know if the aim of her game was to spike his desire for her (which was reaching near blinding levels after their time in the med station), or to add punishment to carrying the crate for so long, or even trying to provide some outlet for her previously seen jealousy as well. Shepard began to think of other things to get his mind off the situation, knowing that Presidium elevators were notoriously slow.

"Grunt, I forgot to ask before you ran our way, what were you doing up here?"

"Part of Wrex's Council delegation. Wrex keeps himself busy being in contact with Tuchanka and trying to arrange transportation back home, while me and some other Arlakh members were told to make ourselves useful, show the Citadel and Council the krogan have a, hrmmm, 'nicer' disposition. What better way to be useful than helping my battlemaster, eh Shepard?"

"Let Wrex know you'll be heading out with me in a few days. We have a mission to take out a Cerberus station and reclaim it for the new Grissom Academy location. Tell him I'll hold a gun to his head if he doesn't let you join."

"Ha! Seems like all you do is hold guns to people's heads, Shepard." Zaeed barked as he remembered the Captain holding a gun to his head on Zorya, trying to get the merc to play by his rules.

Miranda already knew about the mission, but the looks on the others faces showed relief that they were finally able to do something. Even Kasumi, who seemed hesitant to fight on the front lines again after the suicide mission, gave a wry smile.

"Am I coming along too?" Oriana asked.

Miranda spoke up before John could say a word. "Of course, Ori. it's a simple enough mission, and you'll be well cared for on the Normandy."

Shepard continued where Miranda left off. "You won't be part of any fighting, but you can get a feel for what your sister and I have been doing for the past years. Plus there will be some kids from Grissom Academy aboard, give you someone your own age to talk too."

Oriana's eyes lit up with that revelation. For the longest time she was either captive by her father, being watched over by Miranda, or fearing for her life. Having someone her own age to talk to, even for the most mundane things, would be something to help allow normalcy to the younger Lawson's life.

"We're getting Jack back?" Kasumi said, emphasizing the rhyme in her sentence.

"And Jacob, just for you, Kasumi."

"Mmmmmmm, crunches..." She happily replied.

Miranda chimed in, reminding the thief of his current relationship, "He's got a girlfriend and a kid on the way, play nice."

Kasumi responded with a frown, hiding her face with her hood.

The elevator finally arrived at the embassies, where the crew got off and headed for the shuttle zone. People looked at the crew as they walked by, those who were still around when Shepard originally landed attempted to once again capture the moment. Miranda had reached for her omnitool to short circuit the area again, but Shepard grabbed her hand in his, stopping the sabotage.

As she looked up at him, he just smiled, that constant trait of his that she knew meant for everyone to carry on. "It's ok, Miri. I'm good to go now."

"Yes, sir, captain." Her purring response coupled with a seductive glare made Shepard completely oblivious to anyone else in the area; no doubt a few pictures being snapped now would show Shepard's face showing a look of being completely dumbstruck.

"Heads up John, take the lead." Miranda attempted to get his mind back on the matter at hand, her eyes glancing to the rest of the crew, waiting to know which shuttle is theirs.

Clearing his throat, being unable to hide to allure that Miranda had slowly been casting over him in recent hours, he looked back to the crew, pointing to the shuttle at the farthest end of the landing zone. "That one, load up and we'll head back to Silversun."

Grunt immediately looked excited, but before he could ask his question (which would be to pilot the shuttle) Shepard looked at him and shook his head. "No, Grunt. I'm still paying for your little escape from Huerta."

Growling a krogan pout, Grunt replied quietly "I'm sober this time, though..."

Loading up the shuttle, everything seemed accounted for. All weapons were in place, the rations and shield barriers were secured, and as the sun began to set on the Presidium, the shuttle departed, with Shepard at the helm. Compared to the sense of dread that he fought back at the beginning of the day, with a mission in sight and a sense of greater cooperation coming from the Council, Shepard believed things were actually looking up. He still held his reservations, knowing the last time he felt this optimistic, it was right after Rannoch, and he didn't want his mind to go down that path again.

"ETA to Silversun, 15 minutes. Refreshments are available, but cost 50 credits a piece." Shepard's attempt at Joker's banter seemed to fall flat, as he heard everyone behind him groaning.

As he looked ahead, manually piloting the shuttle, he heard Miranda's heels hitting the floor grating, sliding into the co-pilot's chair, but not before sliding the partition shut. Shepard watched out of the corner of his eye as Miranda tapped a bit on the panel, a few strokes here and there, a swipe of her hand, and soon Shepard realized the shuttle had been switched to autopilot.

Turning his seat 90 degrees to look at Miranda, Shepard gave her a devilish look, which she gladly reciprocated. Before he could open his mouth Miranda had already stood up to straddle him, wrapping her arms over his headrest, immediately pinning his head back with a violent kiss, no passion being lost. Initially surprised at her ferocity, Shepard returned the intensity, his hands running through her hair as he continued to find breath through his nose, refusing to let his lips part Miranda's. This continued until both pulled each other away simply to gather full breaths, their lips swollen from their embrace.

Miranda looked at Shepard intently, one of her hands placing itself on his chest. With heavy breaths still coming from her, she whispered into Shepard's ear, "If you refuse to limit yourself from strenuous activity, I'll have to make sure you see how much more prone to injury you'll become."

"I look forward to proving my doctor wrong."

"With only 10 more minutes until we arrive, I hope you don't strain anything before tonight. It sure would be a waste of an evening."

With that the two continued to kiss, their closed eyes missing out on the realization that as they traveled to the wards the power had returned, bathing the shuttle in the neon lights that brought with it a greater sense of security to the people of the Citadel.

* * *

"Joker, give me an updated ETA," Ashley said as she stood at the CIC, a glass of liquor in her hand. After giving the good news tot he crew, refreshments were scrounged up and flowing accordingly, the real party beginning once the Normandy was able to finally get connect to the relay.

_"Like I said an __**hour**__ ago, Ash, 29 hours out. Do the math from now on,"_ Joker's harsh tone on the intercom reflected his mood for the past few days. Ashley knew that he was dealing with the loss of EDI at the moment, and his inability to address her by her rank was overlooked. _If he keeps being more of an ass, I'm going to have to knock some sense into him_.

The first few attempts at jumping were filled the ship with a tense air, the defenseless ship constantly running parallel the relay, all systems connecting, only to result in continuing to still travel along the relay, making this experienced ship look like it was being run by rank amateurs. Even worse was the feeling that it was drawing attention to anyone in the area who looked to poach on the weak, which the Normandy certainly was at this time.

By the fifth attempt, the relay was able to connect, and the blueshift let the crew realize for the time being, there was nothing to worry about. And from extranet reports, it wasn't as though fighting was occurring near Earth. For the time being, at least.

As Ashley looked around from the dais, she saw relieved crewmates raising their voices in laughter, drinks in hand. No one seemed completely smashed at the moment, and she hoped that her attempt to raise the crew's spirits with spirits did not backfire on her and that they would know their limits. It wouldn't look good for her short time in command to dock at the Citadel with a hungover crew.

"Traynor, keep an eye on Joker, I'm heading down to the Mess Hall."

"Yes, ma'am."

Hitting the elevator, Ashley stepped inside, taking the moment to exhale and regain her composure. Being honest with herself, she was anxious about returning to Earth and seeing what had happened in the two weeks since the Normandy jumped, and seeing Shepard again. Their relationship had moved from lovers to simply friends, but she still had some lingering feelings for the man that hadn't completely dissipated yet.

Arriving at the Mess Hall, Ashley noticed James was cooking up food, laughing away as he spoke to Dr. Chakwas.

"Hey, LC! Want a ration version of enchiladas?"

Ashley immediately showed her disgust at the concept, having her face curl like she was retching.

"See, Lieutenant? You're just throwing good food away with this experiment," Dr. Chakwas responded, eating her MRE just as intended; a preserved mush of nutrients.

"Come on Doc, you put enough spices into something and you can turn a thresher maw into a filet mignon."

"Ugh, come on Vega, even your thoughts of food are making me gag." Ashley headed for the refrigerator, looking to procure two bottles of water to balance out the liquor she had consumed, hoping to lead by example.

"Blues, don't knock it until you tried it." James had attempted to instill Ashley with a nickname much like he had done Shepard, Garrus, and Tali, settling on her military history and her Alliance regulation armor. Ashley had expected something much more antagonizing, but it worked. Maybe it was James' way of playing nice to her, showing an interest in her beyond any drunken party flirting.

"Whatever, just make sure everyone knows their limit. You have my permission to force them into the sleep pods to sober them up if they get rowdy." Ash gave a quick salute to the two as she headed for Liara's office.

Entering Liara's room, she was greeted by Glyph and Liara running her hands over the screens in front of her, attempting to keep a tab on any remaining sources the Shadow Broker had in the galaxy. Judging from the amount of red on the screen, it seemed that nearly half of all Liara's contacts were either MIA or destroyed by the Reapers, which seemed to be both a blessing and a curse; a blessing to help Liara not remain pigeon-holed in front of her screens, a curse to realize their are no longer strings being pulled by someone who has worked toward the greater good.

Ashley handed Liara the extra bottle of water, correctly predicting she hadn't taken a moment's rest once the ship regained power. Liara turned away from her screens and offered a thankful smile.

"Thank you, Ashley, sometimes I lose myself in all this information. Shepard would often have to deliver my meals to me in between missions to make sure I ate."

"At least take some time off while we're docked to look at everything. A request from a friend, Liara."

"I might have to for the time being. As you can see, half my contacts are off the board. I assume a few of them simply took the resources I gave them and ran during all the chaos. Others simply weren't so lucky. With the Reapers gone, I hope a few of them reestablish contact."

"You're acting like you've only got the lifespan of a human, don't get so hung up on this right now. If anyone attempts to do anything stupid, I have to think the other species will put them down hard."

"I'd like to believe that, but some of the backstabbing can take place over time. We have to be ready."

Ashley didn't know how to respond to that, leaving an awkward silence between the two. As Ashley turned around to leave, Liara asked her friend one last question.

"Ash, do you...think there will be room for us when Shepard takes back the ship?" She had completely stopped whatever she was doing, her face showing a sense of worry.

Ashley turned back around, surprised that Liara, of all people on the ship, would think of such a thing. Before she could respond, Liara tried to explain herself.

"You probably know from Sanctuary that Miranda Lawson and Shepard are quite the couple now, and that she was his XO during his mission for Cerberus. This was her room during that time." Liara raised her hands to emphasize the space they currently occupied. "It just feels like we were what he was stuck with during the war, rather than the crew he would have chosen had he not been under house arrest."

Liara's eyes looked to the ground with regret for even thinking about this, and Ashley was having trouble understanding if this came from some form of guilt, or Liara's never-quite-hidden feelings for Shepard bubbling back up to the surface.

Not quite sure of the answer herself, Ashley placed a comforting hand on Liara's shoulder, trying to get eye contact from the asari. "Hey, I know John, he wouldn't think like that at all. There would be plenty of room for all of us, or he'd make room for everyone. We weren't even using a full crew during the war." Seeing a sigh of relief on Liara's face, she continued.

"Garrus and Tali would have said something had Shepard been thinking anything like that. It's just not his nature, we're all his band of adopted misfits, saving the day wherever we go."

"You're...you're right, Ash. I just had to say the words out loud to get them out of my head. Shepard hadn't changed that much over the last three years."

"I would say he took a step down in the girlfriend department, but let's keep that between ourselves, ok?" Ashley gave a wink as she said that, Liara smiling.

"I've got to go check on Garrus before I get some sleep, I hope you do the same, Liara."

"I will Ash. But I suggest not checking up on Garrus, I believe he and Tali might be enjoying each other's company at the moment."

Ashley shook her head in disbelief, chuckling slightly. "So they really have a thing going, huh?"

"It would seem that it wasn't just an end of the world thing after all."

"Of all the relationships I would have thought of..." The two females laughed a bit as they parted ways, their minds more at ease as they looked to steal a few hours of rest amongst the partying.

**Can you see the paths starting to converge? Almost there! I think I'm going to have something original with Ashley and Miranda, it should make everyone happy. The scene with the nurse was more of story version of an interrupt, seeing what you can do to make it work on page rather than on screen. With regards to Shepard's scar on his nose, it looks like something that was added in the face detail for ME3, I don't really remember seeing it in the other games. We know about the renegade scars, but this seemed much more permanent. No worries, it probably won't be referenced again.**


	8. The Calm Before

8: The Calm Before

After the crew had arrived back to the Silversun Strip, the cargo was unloaded, or rather thrown, from the shuttle into the apartment, a silver lining to the glass windows being blown out days ago. As the crew hopped off to save themselves a trip through Tiberius Towers, Shepard had parked the shuttle in a relatively safe area, overriding the lock to respond only to his omnitool should any thief be looking for a vehicle to steal.

Realizing that the power had remained consistent since he had parked the shuttle, Shepard noticed a few more people on the walkways, more than likely citizens finally looking to share stories and experiences about what they had survived.

Returning to the apartment with fewer fanfare than he had leaving the Strip, Shepard saw that Zaeed had already gotten the shield barriers up around the windows, allowing the neon lights to be diffused, along with blocking out more of the ward's ambient noise that came with a gradual increase in the hovercars and shuttles making their way through the ward.

The ration crate was already opened, everyone taking what they wanted from the supplies, it's quality much better than what the others had been living on.

"Real chicken! Or at least something a lot closer to chicken than anything we had before..." Kasumi's expression showed genuine joy, showing everyone who would look at the products she held in her hand. "I've got dinner, out of my way!"

Smiling at Kasumi's infectious enthusiasm, Shepard realized he need to contact Samara. Activating his omnitool while the ruckus of food preparation was going on around him, he quickly wrote a response to the justicar asking for her services once again:

_Samara,_

_I heard you survived the attack on London, and hope you are duly righting wrongs over the past few days. _

_You had always said that if I needed your help, you would come. Well, this isn't so much a need as a friendly invitation to join the Normandy again, as we keep the peace during this time of rebuilding._

_If you can find transportation, I'm up on the Citadel, you know the location._

_-Shepard_

Sending the message off without a second thought, Shepard walked up the steps, looking to remove his armor and get a shower in before dinner. Everyone else's moods seemed happier, Grunt's addition to the apartment providing much more laughter than he expected.

Entering his room, he noticed that the shower was already running, Miranda taking advantage of the downtime, her armor resting gently on her part of the bed. Shepard thought about joining her, and banked right to his locker, hitting the strap releases with his fists, feeling the armor plates fall off bit by bit. It's always easier to destroy than build, and it was no different when it came to armor.

Instead of organizing the armor back in his locker like he would normally do, he kicked it to one side, removing his boots in the process. It was something that could be dealt with in the morning, or maybe he'd get Miranda to do it. _What better way to harness a biotic's power?_

As he raised his eyes from the floor exiting the locker, he noticed that his room's door was locked shut. He didn't even realize he had a door to his room, the open area concept being part of the apartment's design.

Looking to his right, he saw that Miranda had finished her shower, and was leaning against the wall wearing nothing but a white robe, the opening showing off her ample cleavage, her hair still damp. They had tested the waters of their rekindled relationship in the shuttle on the way back, and it seems even the shower didn't dispel Miranda's desire, her blue eyes locking on to her prey, refusing to look away.

The two took a step towards one another before clashing in an embrace that contained both lips attaching themselves to any area of skin on the other's face, all while the two hurriedly tried to undress the other.

As Shepard was able to easily disrobe Miranda, her competitiveness had been thrust into overdrive, biotics kicking in and ripping Shepard's shirt off in order to make up the seconds that it would take to get the shirt off by conventional means. She pushed him onto the bed, lust completely glazing over her eyes as she waited for Shepard to remove his boxers, the lovers never breaking eye contact.

As Shepard used his elbows to crawl back up to the pillows, Miranda crawled onto the sheets, slowly hovering above her lover.

"Show me how much you love me, John."

With that low purr hitting his ear, Shepard finally lost control, giving in to his own lust that had been building over the course of the day, any reservations or thinking thrown completely out the window as he flipped her over and embraced her.

Hours later, the two had finally given in to rest, tiring themselves out in splendid fashion, ignoring the dinner and conversations that the others enjoyed that evening. By Shepard's estimation it was around midnight. Miranda had spooned against him, his left hand wrapped around her, fingers gently entwined. Compared to when they had privately celebrated after the suicide mission, this reunion had carried with it all the regrets and feelings they couldn't properly express over the past year, as though they were attempting to destroy these mental barriers in a physical fashion, hoping that by doing so in such a carnal manner they would be able to find one another on that emotional level that eluded them so many times during the war.

Whatever the past few hours entailed, it was clear they were the only people in the world for one another, no one else ever coming between them. Taking in the sweet smell of Miranda's hair, Shepard shut his eyes, hearing his lover mumble something as she pushed her head further into her pillow, the two drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Having just finished another ration at Ashley's request, Garrus arrived at the CIC, seeing only one or two crewmembers still awake at their stations. The celebration had died down when the alcohol ran out, many having a bit more than was intended by Ashley. When Garrus went to talk to Tali in Engineering, Donnelly was busy trying to imitate Shepard's dancing. He was doing a pretty good job of it too, Garrus had to admit, until he spilled his scotch all over his monitors, causing a few sparks to fly, both physically and verbally from both Tali and Daniels. _Good thing Adams wasn't at his station when it happened, or they'd all be forced to climb through the ducts to clean up any last drops._

Despite being on the Normandy for as long as anyone, Garrus, never really cared to be up where the orders were given. He had visited Joker a few times just to catch up with him, but he found himself drawn more to the battery (of course) and the shuttle bay, the predictability of dealing with either a cannon or working out was more than enough to keep his mind focused on the task at hand.

Walking up to the cockpit, he sat down at EDI's old spot, tapping a few panels to log in and allow Joker a few hours to sleep. As he looked over to Jeff, he saw a frustrated face that continued to look ahead at the blushift, not wanting to make eye contact with the turian as he sipped on some kind of liquor.

"I got it, Garrus, a few stim packs and I'll be wired for the next eight hours until we jump out of blueshift."

"Don't give me that crap, Joker, I can tell you're running on fumes and I don't want your anger over EDI-"

Quicker than Garrus anticipated, Joker let loose his anger. "What the hell am I supposed to be angry about then, huh?!" Joker turned his face to look at Garrus, his visor being off his face throwing Joker's eyes a curve as they darted around until they were sure who they were looking at. "I had something to fight for, something that made me happy, and now it's gone!" His eyes looked down for a moment at his drink, a low follow up to his outburst barely being audible, "everything I care for gets taken..."

"Your family could be -"

"My family is dead! I saw the reports on Tiptree, it's ashes!" Joker continued to raise his voice, the few crewmembers still up slowly making their way to the cockpit, wondering if there would be a fight that would have to be broken up.

Garrus saw them out of the corner of his eye and raised his hand slightly, telling them to hold off.

"Jeff, listen, it's been a rough war, and some good people, but we can't just throw that all away to make one person happy. Would you prefer the Reapers to still be here, destroying everything, as long as you had still had EDI?"

His eyes showing his seriousness, Joker looked at his friend with resolve and hostility. "Yeah, I would. At least EDI wasn't holding out to be whisked off her feet by Shepard, only having to settle for the runner-up for a desperate end-of-the-world fuck."

That did it. The venomous insult about Tali achieved Joker's purpose, causing Garrus to stand up and move towards the pilot. Throwing his glass of liquor on the floor, Joker stood up as fast as his bones would allow, his hands now free to taunt Garrus into coming at him.

Garrus took one step and grabbed Joker by his uniform, pulling him close so that their faces were inches apart. Before giving in to the anger by providing a fist in Joker's face, Garrus caught himself, realizing he usually wouldn't let himself be taken off guard like that. Even more shocking was how little remorse there was in Jeff's face, something that made the turian wonder if the human had just given up.

As the other crewmembers ran into the cockpit to diffuse the situation, Garrus simply pushed Joker to the side and into their hands. "He's had too much to drink, make sure Lieutenant Vega watches him go into a sleep pod for a few hours." Joker tried to fight being carried from the cockpit, but the two men were more than capable of holding him in place as they dragged him to the elevator, making sure not to apply too much force that would injure their pilot.

As Garrus turned his back and headed into the pilot's chair, he head Joker's anger bellow out from the CIC.

"Fuck you, Garrus! You're shit without Shepard!"

Garrus just sighed at those words, wondering if it was all just drunken rage or if there was some truth finally slipping out of Jeff's mouth that he kept bottled up for so long. Tapping his omnitool Garrus contacted Tali, who he knew had fallen asleep an hour ago in the bunks.

"Garrus, what is it?" Her filtered voice carrying with it exhaustion and some frustration at waking up so soon after laying down.

"Joker is...out of commission for the time being, Tali, and with Cortez and EDI not around we don't really have any backup pilots. I was wondering if you could help me out up here so we can make a smooth dock in a few hours."

Hearing some quarian curses under her breath, she replied in the affirmative, and closed the comm channel. Waiting for her to arrive up in the cockpit, Garrus looked down at the broken glass, not even bothering to pick it up, just watching the liquid channel its way down a grate.

_I sure hope Shepard's not feeling like shit right now..._

* * *

Hours later Shepard awoke to find that Miranda had left the bed, her warmth still there, indicating that it must have been relatively recent. He was usually more keen in detecting any nearby movement, so he was both shocked and impressed by her ability to sneak out of his grasp. He pulled himself up, expecting to feel some measure of soreness after last night, finding nothing but a greater spring in his step. He had once again heard the shower running, and immediately went to join Miranda.

He had sneaked into the bathroom, Miranda's eyes closed as she let the hot water pour down her genetically perfect body. Shepard made a mental photo of the scene, letting her beauty occupy many facets of his mind. He stepped into the shower grabbing her by her waist, pressing his hand firmly against her stomach. Her initial yelp was followed by a happy giggle, water making its way into her mouth that she did not anticipate. As she coughed a bit, Shepard attacked her neck with kisses, feeling the goosebumps arise over her skin as his day old stubble found its way from the back of her neck to her shoulders. Desperately trying to avoid giving in to the low hanging fruit that was before her, Miranda attempted a firm retort to Shepard's foreplay.

"Slow down, soldier boy. I need to be able to focus for the next few hours while I implant your new modules."

Not letting up in the assault, Shepard continued kissing her neck while he spoke, "We have to reach our limits to surpass them, Miss Lawson."

"As motivating as that sounds, Captain, I don't like the possibility that my property will get damaged after everything I invested in it."

"Are you talking about me, or the medical equipment?"

"Yes," Miranda teased her non-answer, a slight nip of her shoulder being her reward.

Feeling that she had reached an optimum level of clean after the night's activities, she broke from Shepard's grasp, leaving the shower to wrap herself in a towel. Hearing a low growl, she simply responded, "Oh hush. Clean and feed yourself while I get everything ready. Can you keep yourself occupied for the next twenty minutes?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Shepard continued to clean himself, letting the heat burn away anything that would occupy his mind, although at the moment the only thing he could think about was Miranda.

Hitting the shower off, he let the water fall off him as he let the air dry him without the help of a towel, turning to the bathroom mirror to brush his teeth and shave. This had been his odd ritual for the past six months, something born not out of any real reason other than simply trying to control one portion of his life amidst shooting anything that got in his way.

Donning some sweatpants and a white N7 shirt that carried with it Miranda's scent (she obviously wore it while he was recovering days ago), Shepard made his way down the steps, any pain in his foot all but gone. Reaching the ground floor he looked around, much more trash had been picked up and a few things were even back in their original locations. At the kitchen was Kasumi, again behind the stove, a smile on her face as she looked happy with her latest creation.

"Morning, John!" Oriana had greeted his arrival with a cup of tea and a plate of what looked like a chicken omelet from the rations they had received the other day. The food might be artificial, but the presentation was amazing.

"Eat up Shep, after your busy night, you need your strength for the surgery in a few minutes." Kasumi teased, knowing full well why the two hadn't arrived for dinner the night before, no judgment being passed except the smile that showed on Kasumi's face.

Taking a few bites of the omelet, Shepard was amazed at how well it was put together, and how close it tasted to the real thing. His face showed real happiness as he gave Kasumi a thumbs up, the thief returning in kind.

"I think I know who's taking over the Normandy kitchen as we head to Zion," Shepard complimented.

"As long as my superiors look the other way as a few crates of platinum go missing, it shouldn't be a problem."

"If that stipulation comes with teaching everyone on board how to cook, consider it done." Shepard made sure that Kasumi saw that he was pointing to Oriana as he said that. He was slightly joking, but he (and she) knew that he was telling the truth.

As Shepard continued to wolf down the meal, using his hands to tell Kasumi to make one more for him, he saw that Zaeed and Grunt were busy moving some of the fallen bookcases from the game room over to the shield barriers, still working as expected.

"Is there something I should know?"

"When you control the food, it becomes easier to control the cleanup. In exchange for my culinary skills Grunt and Zaeed have volunteered their downtime to cleaning up the apartment."

"It's bloody blackmail, Shepard!" Zaeed said as he dropped the damaged bookshelf, letting it land right by the fireplace.

"Yeah, I could just shoot her and take the food, show her who's boss." Grunt threw bookcases with ease on top of Zaeed's, the weight making them all collapse and break apart.

"If you did that, Grunt, you'd have one dead human, a bunch of vacuum sealed rations, and no one to make the flavors pop in your mouth," Kasumi easily defended he reason to remain breathing as she finished on Shepard's second omelet, the krogan thinking about it for a minute before he sighed at that truthful reasoning.

Zaeed looked to Shepard as he walked back to the study, "Shepard, we're just going to toss this trash into the shuttle and fly it to some waste station, let me have your access codes f'r the shuttle."

Content with his second helping and in a much less questioning mood, Shepard opened up his omnitool to give Zaeed the access codes, realizing that the worst the merc would do would probably shoot some robbers on the way there, nothing really completely wrong with that idea. After a few additional taps, the information was sent over to Zaeed.

"Heh, you sure are a trusting one, Shepard."

"I did set the shuttle to power off if you don't return it here in thirty minutes. Just a heads up." Shepard's deadpanned response and stern look hid the truth from everyone, unable to tell if he was joking or not. When it came to Zaeed, there was a good chance he wasn't joking.

"Zaeed Massasni, died because he didn't take out the trash. There's some sort of poetic justice to that, isn't there?" Kasumi teased, the mercenary just laughing at the idea as he lit another cigar, the man keeping as many on his person as he would thermal clips.

Putting his silverware on his plate and wiping his face with his arm, Shepard gave Kasumi another thumbs up for the breakfast and rose from the island. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading back up to be put on the operating table. If you get any calls from Jack or Jacob while I'm under, make sure to direct them here."

Kasumi nodded her head, showing that she had it completely under control. _She's actually really good at mediating conflict, and going from thief to politician shouldn't be that big of a jump..._

As Shepard walked up the stairs with his mug of tea in hand, he heard Grunt and Zaeed continue to toss anything broken into the pile. Reaching his room again, he found Miranda finishing up her prep work with the portable surgery station, various dials set to the correct conditions needed for the modules to be implanted. Once again she seemed to pilfer his belongings, this time a pair of sweatpants, only her sleeveless workout top belonging to her. Seeing his shadow arrive in the room, Miranda motioned for Shepard to lie on the bed, her eyes not leaving the device.

"John, remove your shirt and lay chest first on the bed," the comforter of the bed had been removed, leaving only a new pair of white linen on the mattress.

Doing as he was told, he placed a pillow to support his head, his arms returning to his side. As he felt Miranda's bare hand run from his back to his neck, he relaxed more, knowing that he was about to get injected with a sedative in his neck. And right on cue, Miranda provided the anesthetic, it's warmth immediately spreading throughout Shepard's body.

Waiting for it to take full effect, Miranda stroked Shepard's head, his stringent military haircut allowing for no hair for her to play with.

"Just relax, John, when you wake up you'll be ready to shoot anything that comes your way."

Feeling his eyes get heavy and letting the sleep take over, Shepard was able to utter one last line, knowing it would drive Miranda crazy.

"...but my arrow already shot your heart..."

He felt the slight slap on his head that he expected, followed by a variation of Miranda's common insult of affection, "You poetic ass..."

And with that Shepard drifted back to sleep, a slight grin on his face.

* * *

Shepard woke up in his apartment bed, attempting to push his chest off the mattress, the soreness making itself evident from the last hours. Reversing the old idiom, it was pleasure first, pain second.

He had had the module surgery before during his marine days, although the medical technology in the past decade had since improved the recovery time. Where once he had to remain in bed face down for the rest of the day, now he was able get up as long as he limited his activity.

Being embedded next to organs to help speed up healing and distribution of medigel meant the soreness would stick around for a bit as the body got used to them, even as the incisions made into his skin felt like they were halfway to being closed up. It felt as though their placement might have changed, feeling one module placed behind his left shoulder blade, the other two positioned near his kidneys and liver.

His feet hitting the floor, he attempted to stretch a bit, a simple twist of the stomach and rotation of the arms, followed by some quick boxer-type hops as he bounced back and forth while putting his shirt back on.

Completing this simple task to his satisfaction he relieved himself in the bathroom, and headed back down to see how long he had been out of commission. Again.

The apartment sounded as though there was a life to it again, the worries and concern for security seemed to have been long forgotten, despite being only three days past waking up the first time. Many more voices were picked up on as he heard Grunt's roar of a laugh followed by a...bark? _Jack must have arrived, with her varren too._

Before he made it downstairs, he noticed that there were four Grissom Academy students he helped rescue looking around the conversation area, amazed and confused at the furniture and sheer space of the apartment, hearing words like "absurd" and "insane." These being a younger generation, he didn't know if they were using the meaning of the word in the correct sense or if it was new slang being created.

They saw Shepard walking towards them, their faces being as red as their uniforms. Immediately Shepard put his hands in front of him, palms facing out as if to explain. "I can explain, this was Admiral Anderson's Council apartment. If you don't like it, it wasn't me. If you do like it, you should probably thank Kahlee Sanders or the asari decorator..."

"Commander Shepard, it's an honor to meet you again..." Rodriguez attempted to salute but Shepard's eyes and quick shake of the head told her that wasn't necessary. He gave the other three students a smile and thanked them for all their work helping out soldiers in London, knowing that it must not have been easy being thrown into the battle at such a young age. More than anything he wanted to reassure the students that they weren't being drafted into anything, but were being positioned to get what was left of their old lives back.

"Taking out a Cerberus station, that's some kind of payback!" Octavia clapped her hands together in excitement, the other students nodding their heads in agreement, revenge (or rather vengeance) on their mind.

"Cool your jets cadet, we're still a day or two away at the earliest." Shepard remembered the days of unbridled youth, which probably is magnified when you have biotics running through you. "You'll get your chance, but do what you can to help out on the Citadel for the time being."

"You're not going to tell us to clear rubble, are you? We've been doing that all week..." Rodriguez said in a dejected tone.

"I'll see if I can pull some strings with Bailey, have you meet up with the other Grissom Students who were helping out with administrative stuff. Paper pushing or rock pushing." Shepard joked with his response, holding his hands out as scales to show the balance between the two.

Hearing the groans from the students, Shepard surrendered the space with a little bit of his pride and told them to enjoy themselves for the time being, heading back downstairs to see who else had been quartered in his apartment.

Downstairs he saw the other four members of Jack's class laughing in front of the TV, enjoying some holovid as opposed to what would probably be nonstop newsfeeds from across the galaxy about the cleanup. After hearing another loud krogan laugh when he saw a salarian walk into a wall, it became apparent that not only was Grunt watching the film, Oriana was too, Eezo curled up next to her as she petted his back periodically.

Weirdly enough, they were enjoying a comedy film from twenty years ago about a salarian who found himself in the body of a female turian, something Shepard remembered seeing in the marine barracks years ago. _It was terrible then, it's terrible now..._

"Glad you could join us, Captain." Miranda said as she came up behind Shepard, her hand gently rubbing his back as she made an effort not to apply pressure to the surgery points, her slight surprise of him being easily done when she wasn't wearing her heels or hiding their clicking with her biotics, again relying on Shepard's clothes when she wasn't in her armor.

Shepard kissed her on her forehead, glad to see that she didn't shy away from the company that had arrived while he was out of commission. Taking the water bottle that she offered, he attempted to get a quick rundown of the situation so as not to be as off guard as he was with the students upstairs.

"Sitrep, Miss Lawson."

"Out of commission for ten hours, Jacob and Brynn arrived four hours ago, Jack and her students three. They were apparently teamed up in London when you got them out of cleanup duty. Your requests really do seem to move mountains..."

"I take it there's something you'd like me to procure?"

"Clothes, John."

"...I'm sorry?" Shepard's look was one of sheer confusion. Miranda looked good in many, _many_ things, and she knew it, but in the time he knew her she never seemed preoccupied over such items.

An annoyed look crossed her face at his confusion, realizing his often sharp mind went straight for one of the most common stereotypes of her gender. "You ass, I mean real clothes. Uniforms. Whatever. Oriana and I have been wearing the same things for nearly two weeks, and I didn't really have much of a wardrobe in your apartment before London..."

"I get it, Miri. I'll see what I can do. It doesn't stop you from wearing my clothes though..."

Feigning frustration in a way to give the impression that she was speaking the truth, Miranda replied with a slight defensive tone, "Necessity, John, not some ridiculous notion that I was telling others that you were mine."

"Absolutely Miss Lawson, my mind never thought otherwise," Shepard's words carried a certain aloofness that knew her answer contained half-truths, but didn't want to push the point, knowing the real answer showed itself when he saw her wearing his N7 jacket the day they reunited.

"Good, now lift up your shirt for a second, let me see the scars..."

Shepard did as he was told, slowly pulling his shirt off his back, feeling her unusually warm hands check the areas where the modules were located, wincing when she pressed harder than he expected.

"I felt you tense up, John, that's to be expected. They're healing nicely, and should be active in another 12 hours, and then you'll feel fine."

"I swear, cheerleader, if you're trying to screw Shepard in front of everyone, that's a new low. Even for you." Jack's rather light hearted insult made the two lovers look up as they saw their former colleague head their way, beers in hand as she nodded to Shepard, letting his shirt fall down as he grabbed the beer bottle that was thrown his way.

"Glad to see you survived, Shepard. Wouldn't be much of a party if you hadn't pulled through." She immediately punched Shepard's left shoulder, adding a biotic effect to the punch at the last second to make him step back once to brace himself. He hid the pain well enough behind a smile.

"Jack, how nice of you to bring a gift," Miranda replied with a hint of ice in her words, greeting her with a tepid smile.

"It isn't that big of a deal, some thugs on the docks pushed their luck with me and the kids, thinking this ink was more a performance art thing, they learned their lesson. Swiped their beer just to teach them a lesson, plenty more to carry into the evening."

"I'm sure the students learned a thing or two."

"Fuck yeah they did! Those kids can set off biotic explosions in their sleep!" Jack's enthusiasm at her student's grasp of biotics really shined through, Miranda trying to stop herself from smiling, but failing in this instance.

Handing Miranda the bottle of water, Shepard popped the top of the beer and began to drink, a sigh of approval after having finished his first sip, looking at the label and making a mental note to make sure this is requisitioned on the Normandy.

Jack followed up her yell with a much more somber reply eyes looking down at her feet, "I just want to say Shep, I appreciate what you're doing here, getting the kids a station to get their lives back to normal. They won't admit it, but things got pretty fucked up near the end in London. If they were on the front lines, I don't think they would have been here today."

Realizing how sincere Jack was in this admission, Shepard put his open hand on her shoulder, a firm grip making her look him in the eyes. "I'm glad they're ok, and I'm glad you're ok, Jack. With you and Kahlee restarting Grissom, it's going to be a much needed symbol of normalcy for the galaxy."

Jack was doing her best to not show emotion, especially in front of Miranda, but her eyes showed a sincere thanks.

"I know Shepard would prefer that we just kiss and get it over with, but for what it's worth I'm glad you and your students made it out too, Jack." Miranda chimed in, doing her best to show Jack that any charade of competition between the two didn't need to exist anymore.

"Thanks, cheerleader, I'm kinda glad you survived too. If you croaked I don't think Shepard could handle me while he was looking for any sorta consoling."

"How thoughtful..." Miranda's cold voice returning, Shepard's hand rubbing her back to politely tell her to relax.

"Comander!"

Shepard turned to see Jacob, Zaeed, Cortez and Kasumi returning into the apartment, arms filled with various supplies. When he saw Zaeed's face it looked like he was fuming, ready to punch a hole in the wall.

"Shepard you son of a bitch, you really did set the shuttle on a timer!" The mercenary closed the distance between them, not looking for a fight but more to cuss him out in front of his face, Jack was just laughing up a storm at what she just heard.

"You better be bloody thankful Kasumi was with us when we went to the docks, otherwise we'd have crashed into a building!"

"I didn't think you'd actually go longer than thirty minutes out there while I was in surgery, Zaeed. And I _did_ warn you. Would you have done anything differently?"

"Yeah, would've just gone ahead _and shot you_." For all his bravado Zaeed seemed more upset that he was on receiving end of the security precaution/prank than anyone else in the crew.

"I tell you what Zaeed, you get first dibs on any credits or weapons at the Cerberus station. Deal?"

Any anger Zaeed felt disappeared when he heard those words, responding in an affirmative chuckle and realizing he had better things to do, like look through some weapons he just picked up while going for more of Jack's beer.

"I have to say Shep, I didn't believe you actually knew how to rig the shuttle to be on a timer," Kasumi responded, her words holding more curiosity than anything else.

"N-school teaches you a lot of things you would never really expect to use. Usually you either start a shuttle or blow it up, never had a need to rig it just so..."

Jacob and Cortez came around to shake Shepard's hand, both relieved that their Commander (now Captain) was able to succeed in his mission. Shepard's look of relief at seeing them was visible on his face, as another few pieces fell in place.

"Jacob, what was your final kill count in London?"

"203, personal best."

"All of them, I win." Shepard's momentary gloating gave way to the two of them laughing as they patted each other on the back, everyone in the area chuckling.

"I knew you would make it, Shepard, that's just what you do."

"With some help from your former partner, let's not forget," Shepard's arm rested around Miranda's waist, letting her contribution to keeping Shepard alive be known.

Jacob nodded at Miranda, the two had clearly spoken while Shepard was still asleep.

"Brynn arrive with you?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping in the guest room upstairs, she needs her rest."

"I would think so, resting should be a priority for her right now."

Miranda had quietly made herself excused from the conversation, Shepard wondering why, but putting that thought to the back of his mind.

"3 months to go, Commander. I can't wait."

"Good man, make us all proud."

"You know it." Jacob excused himself to check on Brynn upstairs, saluting Shepard as he excused himself, nodding politely to Cortez and Jack as he left.

"Gotta say, Commander, this place sure does lift a guy's spirits after London," Steve said happily as he looked around, the apartment showing very little debris since he was last awake. Apart from the jerry-rigged shield generators as window protection, and running on rations as opposed to the fully stocked refrigerator of before, at first glance it looked very hospitable.

"You should have seen it when I first woke up here. upturned furniture, bottles everywhere, I thought I was the sole survivor of some apocalypse. A different apocalypse, but nevertheless..."

"Thanks for calling me up, Commander, helping out on supply drops nonstop kept me busy, but a VI program could have done the job when you don't have to dodge Harvesters."

"I'm going to need the best shuttle pilot, Steve, I have no problem cashing in any favors right now."

"I was informed about the Normandy being en route, it'll be good to be back in the shuttle bay." Steve's eyes mirrored Shepard's in anticipation on their ship returning, ready to welcome them back aboard like a mother hugging her children as they return home from school.

"Look, take a beer, get some food, and before you know it I'll get notified when the Normandy passes through the relay."

"Commander, can I talk to you for a second? In private?" Before Shepard could say another word, Oriana had walked into the circle, timidly trying to stand in front of him, her face looking like it had something private to confess.

"Come on Cortez, humor me a bit in some Skyllian Five." Jack slapped the pilot on the back as the two left, giving Shepard a look that let him know he was free to speak. Shepard turned his focus back to Oriana. "Sure Ori, what's up?"

"Um... I didn't want to say anything before because I didn't know where you stood with 'Randa, but when we first arrived here a few days ago I found this on the ground upstairs..."

Oriana quickly opened her right hand to show a ring, on it's top a single diamond that reflected light with a brilliant clarity. It was the Victory Ring that EDI had given Shepard as a gift, forged from metals of all the council worlds. As soon as he saw what it was Oriana closed her hand again, attempting to look nonchalant to any passers by.

" 'Randa never saw it, and I didn't know if you had planned something or what so I hid it until I could talk to you and I know how hard it is to surprise her so -"

"It's alright, Ori, thanks for keeping it safe." Shepard gave her a smile to calm her down, placing a hand on her shoulder, seeing in her eyes happiness at what she assumed was an engagement ring. Trying not to deflate her joy, Shepard watched his words carefully.

"I wasn't exactly thinking about marrying your sister a few weeks ago..." he started to say, watching her eyes go from joy to sorrow instantly...

"But, _but_," he immediately responded, trying to show her with his eyes that he wasn't about to do anything stupid, "things are in a much better spot now that we don't have to be on the run so much, so I think I'll hold onto that ring from now on."

Taking the ring quickly from her hand and sliding it in his pocket, he put his arm around her with a wink, letting her know that it's up to her to keep a secret for the time being. Oriana's face felt relieved and returned to it's normal happy look, doing her best to look as if they were just sharing jokes or something trivial.

Taking in the activity around him, Shepard couldn't help but grin at all the activity. It wasn't his ship, but things were in motion around him like he was standing at the CIC dais again, his crew doing their assigned duties with ease, ready to punch anybody who stood their way.

After staring out the makeshift windows at the increased hovercar traffic for what seemed like a good hour, talking to those that came to visit him, he looked down at his right hand, the orange light flashing repeatedly. Feeling a spike in adrenaline, he thought to himself, _here we go..._

**I know I said this would be the reunion chapter, and I apologize for it not being here. But some conversation pieces kept popping up and this was getting too long and I wanted to set up the calm before the storm. So instead we have a nice cool down chapter. Next chapter is the reunion, for sure. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited it so far, I hope you'll enjoy the next set of chapters.  
**


	9. The Storm

9: The Storm

The impact of Ashley's fist against Miranda's face made everyone in the shuttle bay wince. A few of the Grissom Academy students actually covered their mouths with their hands, trying to hold back startled shrieks at what they just saw.

It was what you would consider a clean hit, as clean as it could be considering the circumstances, but the sheer violence of the blow was not lost on anyone. If a salarian had been on the receiving end of that punch they would have severe head trauma.

Miranda had stumbled back a bit by the hit. It was something she and everyone around her expected her to dodge, but Ashley's hand speed was incredibly deceptive.

Instinctively she flashed her biotics, but looking at the crew that was around them she immediately lost her blue glow. It had to be fair.

Staring down the marine, she checked her nose with the back of her wrist to see if she was bleeding. _Not yet, at least._

To the crew that knew both of them, they expected their fight to be the textbook case of power versus precision; Ashley providing the power with her marine training, Miranda looking for weaknesses to exploit.

In reality it seemed to be quite the opposite; Miranda looking for the knockout blow while Ashley darted around, keeping herself at arm's length except for moments she knew she could achieve a clean shot.

"That's how you do it, Blues! Vamos!" James yelled as he cupped his hands over his mouth, creating a megaphone to announce his praise, glad that some of his sparring during the war no doubt helped Ashley.

"Miranda, jam her right side, she can't get full motion if you keep pressing her!" Jacob yelled, his arms crossed, clearly annoyed that his former partner wasn't thinking ahead like she normally does.

Instead of pressing her advantage, Ashley gave Miranda a moment to regain her composure. Miranda didn't know if she was being courteous or showing pity to her. She took it as pity.

Hitting her padded fists together to refocus herself, Miranda whipped her wet hair behind her and dashed forward, doing as Jacob instructed, sticking close to Ashley's right side, trying to cut off her powerful right hand. Ashley attempted to pivot away using some left hand jabs to still keep some distance, but Miranda's sidestep let her get two clean right-left jabs into the Lieutenant Commander's face, attempting to finish it with a follow up right haymaker. Ashley got her left hand up to absorb the impact, the force of Miranda's blow forcing Ashley's arm into her own face, more than likely leaving a big bruise on the exterior of the appendage after the match.

Both stepped back after the punch, eyes trying to figure out where the other would go, the crowd rotating between applauding the two fighters.

* * *

"This is getting out of hand," Shepard said as he watched from the engineering floor windows that oversaw the bay, not wanting to be down there during the fight, or to even watch it, but letting his morbid curiosity get the better of him.

He said he wasn't going to watch, saying there had to be a better way to determine the Normandy's executive officer, but both of the women immediately agreed to the idea upon Joker's flippant remark during dinner, a remark which carried with it more vindictiveness than his usual sarcastic repertoire of jokes.

Standing next to him was Garrus, watching with keen eyes, being much more detached than Shepard (for obvious reasons). While he looked on, he would flinch every now and then as though he was in the middle of the bay dodging punches.

"I don't think so, it's more symbolic of the crews being together than anything else. I know _you_ think it's all about you, and Miranda and Ashley might let that creep into their heads, but to the crew it's two people fighting each other for the second spot on the ship."

"You could have been the standup friend I _thought_ you were and settled all this by being the XO."

"I was going to throw my hat in during dinner but they agreed to Joker's idea before I could even swallow my food."

"Uh huh."

"I'm serious Shepard. I couldn't help it that I was desperately trying to make up for all the meals I lost while we were stranded."

"Uh huh."

"I think you've lost some of your optimism in the past few hours and that- ooooh, that's going to stick around for a while..."

Garrus hissed a sigh as he saw that Ashley had just been on the receiving end of a punch to the gut, having to drop to one knee to compose herself, Miranda returning the favor of stopping her assault.

On that hit the Collector crew, including Donnelly, clapped for support of Miranda. Grunt was so happy that he imitated being a boxer himself, punching the air, occasionally throwing in a head butt, not realizing that would be against the rules.

"So where do you and Tali fit into this?"

"Tali is rooting for Ashley, but that shouldn't come as a surprise, they always got along like sisters. I'm rooting for Miranda. You heart goes to the one who lets you calibrate," Garrus said almost poetically, using his hands to emphasize how dramatic and powerful those words attempted to sound.

"Don't feel bad, Shepard. When the dust settles you're going to have a damn good XO, no matter what. The Normandy is the real winner."

"But _I'm_ going to lose either way..." Shepard quietly mumbled as he looked down at the floor, putting his primary two fingers of his hand right above the middle of his eyebrows, rubbing in a clockwise motion.

"I know, that's what makes it even more exciting." Garrus slapped his best friend on the back in jest, a grunt being Shepard's response.

_It wasn't supposed to be like this..._

* * *

**38 hours earlier**

Shepard and his motley crew were waiting at the Alliance dry docks, watching as the crown jewel of the fleet slowly headed on course into its designated station. Not only was Shepard's crew ready to help as those on the ship departed, but more than triple the standard Alliance engineers stood ready to repair and resupply the ship. It was a direct order from Admiral Hackett on top of the Council wanting to prioritize the mission. The sooner repairs could be made away from prying eyes (this particular dock was heavily guarded, being hard for the public to get to), the sooner a repaired Normandy could be paraded to various press outlets as a group of soldiers from a variety of world head off to rebuild the galaxy.

A look of relief showed on his face when he saw the ship finally come into port, docking with a slightly rougher pull than he would have guessed. Perhaps that was how it always looked, he never knew because he was always inside the ship when docking occurred.

As the airlock hissed open, the first to step out was a relieved Tali, her hands clasped together in front of her chest as she skipped onto the connecting walkway, waving for Garrus to come join. He stepped outside, immediately seeing the pile of people at the docks, easily spotting Shepard in his N7 armor. _It's weird that Joker wasn't the first to disembark..._

Shepard had already made his way up the walkway, some of the other members of his old crew slowly starting to follow behind, when Tali ran and wrapped her arms around him, happy to see that he was in front of her in the flesh, looking much more spry than she thought he would be. He returned the hug happily, tapping her helmet in a playful manner and telling her to pass the Normandy's repair list onto the crew below.

As Tali left down the walkway Shepard and Garrus grasped each other's right arms before pulling each other into a hug, the friends glad to see the other had survived without any noticeable damage. It was hard to hear over the sounds of the dock as other ships were worked on and Tali started to tell the waiting repair crew where to start their repairs, but Miranda could see from afar that Garrus had said something to Shepard that made him bust out loud laughing.

While the two soldiers continued to talk, the other members of the crew exited the airlock, Shepard saluting each and every one, those who were part of his squad getting more than a salute. As Joker appeared he seemed happy but out of it. Miranda couldn't help but smile as John seemed like a little kid who had just flown around in an interceptor for the first time, his enthusiasm and concern for his crew infecting everyone in the area. It was like seeing all the weight that he carried on his shoulders the past few months was completely pushed aside now, and anything else going on would simply be an adventure. Oh how Miranda wished she could share that inherent optimism.

When Ashley finally appeared, she initially tried to just salute, but Shepard wasn't having any of that, giving her a hug that initially spiked Miranda's jealousy before letting it subside, logic prevailing over her emotions.

"Miranda, it's good to see you again," Liara's presence and open hand pulled Miranda away from the airlock and to the blue asari in front of her. She shook Liara's hand and smiled, glad to see a friendly face make it through the war with little more than some extra bags under her eyes, the result of many nights of sleepless information gathering.

"Liara, I'm glad to see you made it in one piece, that all of you did." Miranda could see that the asari was about to ask why Shepard's old crew was at the dock, and saved her from asking the question. "The Council has put Shepard back to work, once the Normandy is repaired and restocked we're heading off to take down a Cerberus Station and reposition it to be the new Grissom Academy."

"I must say that I'm impressed by the initiative, but even more that I never received any information from my active contacts on the Citadel." The asari tilted her head a bit as she spoke, looking away, wondering how something like that remained so low to the ground in the world of information.

"Shepard wasted no time in calling in favors."

"Just like during the war..." Liara turned around to look back at Shepard on the walkway, who had stopped hugging Ashley and was now being debriefed by her and Garrus about what happened on the ship for the past two weeks, hands going everywhere to show how the ship crash landed and what was wrong in key areas.

"And just a free piece of information, he's going to be promoted to Captain soon."

Liara's eyes were wide with surprise. "How did you find out?"

"I listened in on his meeting with the Council, of course." Miranda gave a wry smile to acknowledge that she had changed, but not when it comes to using the skills she learned while in Cerberus.

"Remind me only to say good things about you when I speak to Shepard from now on." Liara joked, the two connecting a bit more than they had anticipated in the short time they conversed.

"John has made his apartment available to anyone from the ship during the shore leave, please consider staying over for a bit," Miranda's offer appeared genuine, not just repeating what Shepard has asked her to say. Liara was aware of this change in her attitude, along with calling the Commander by his first name. She wanted to say something about that, but before she could Shepard got everyone's attention with a loud whistle.

As he stood on the ramp he looked down at his crew, he gave them all that patented Shepard nod, making eye contact with all of them, giving Miranda a slightly longer look as she nodded her head to tell him to go ahead, it was his time now.

"Everyone, I'm glad you were able to make it out of the war in one piece. Very few can say the same thing. I want you to know that as of right now, you have a 24 hour shore leave. The Alliance will push your requests to the front of the line, so make contact with any of your family. If you would like to request a transfer to another ship or form of duty, I will not think any less of you. _No one_ _else_ will think any less of you. The war is over, you deserve a chance to celebrate, be with your families."

As he looked around to gauge their reaction to his offer, he continued. "After 24 hours, report back to the ship. We depart to Eden Prime and Zion to take out another Cerberus Station."

"Just another day at the office, huh, Loco?" Vega shouted out, the crew chuckling and agreeing with the sentiment.

"That it is, lieutenant. My apartment is available for any R&R you need, just make sure to travel in groups outside of the Presidium; C-Sec is slowly establishing control of the wards but it can still be a little dicey in certain areas."

"Tali. Adams. Donnelly. Daniels. You stay back for a few minutes and tell the maintenance team here what needs fixing. Everyone else, **dismissed**!"

Shepard's commanding voice at the end immediately elicited a salute from everyone in attendance, which he returned in full detail. He couldn't help but notice that while Joker saluted, it was done with a certain lack of sincerity.

With the speech concluded everyone spread out, some hugging others, some talking with friends they thought they'd never see again, and the Alliance repairmen on hand immediately jumped into action, crates of rations and supplies being pushed ahead while Adams pulled out a datapad showing various engine diagrams that indicated where the damage was done.

Walking down to Miranda, Shepard placed his hand around her waist, kissing her quickly on the forehead as they departed back to the apartment to gather their supplies, other members of the crew following suit.

* * *

**14 hours earlier**

"So that's where everything stands in the galaxy."

Shepard nodded to Miranda, who closed the hologram of displays and maps with a tap of her omnitool. His squad, new and old, composed themselves after receiving all this information, Specialist Traynor making additional notes on datapads. The C-Sec conference room that they were borrowing was big, but even still a few of the squad chose to stand for space, primarily Grunt and Javik.

"Bottom line: the races are working together, but once everyone checks their own planets expect the peace to break. It all depends on what the Council offers in the coming days, if they expand to include other races we'll have a better barometer for the future. For now, let's just do our own version of cleanup."

Everyone seemed to agree with the last statement. Even Garrus and Tali, who had reached high levels within their own governments, felt like they would be better suited being on the Normandy. Or at the very least, stay around for a few more missions. Tali raised her hand for permission to speak, Shepard nodding for her to proceed.

"So with that information, I think I know why the Normandy suffered such a severe loss of power," Tali chimed in, others looking to her for the answer. Before she continued, Joker blurted out the answer.

"It was EDI. She was made, partially, with reaper tech." He took another swig of his liquor, the bottle seemingly being attached to him since he left the dock, no one saying anything as he looked at the glass with disgust on his face, a brooding aura so apparent you could almost see it surround him. Garrus shot his eyes over to Shepard immediately, letting him know that this is something they had to talk about away from everyone else.

"Right. EDI was such a crucial part of the Normandy, along with the IFF that it basically gave the systems a tech version of amnesia. Some hard restarts and equipment shuffling got her back online. Thanks to some geth schematics I can have forwarded from the quarian fleet, I can work with the others to make some patchwork VIs to help bridge the gap between what the crew can do and what EDI di- used to do." Tali was trying her best to not say that EDI was gone, to spare Joker's feelings, but after hearing about the geth being destroyed there was very little to make her think she might still be alive.

"Tali's got the right idea, by the time this mission is done we should have something set in place easily." Adams said, proud that Tali was on the right train of thought.

Shepard's omnitool flashed up, reading the report with a contented smile. "Reports from the dock say that the thrusters are back to 100%, the weapon systems are being fixed right now. Garrus, head over and watch the repairs, they're your babies. Take Tali with you too, make sure everything's back to specifications." Garrus nodded, knowing why Shepard sent the two ahead for a few hours, and they exited the room.

"Everyone else, load up your footlockers, you've got a few more hours before we depart. I'll see you all aboard in four hours. Dismissed!"

"Skipper, a word?" Ashley asked as the others left, Miranda attempting to stay around to hear what she had to say before Shepard gave her a nod to wait outside, doing so reluctantly, a slight glare at the back of Ashley's head as she left.

"Speak freely, Ash."

Her face was clearly frustrated with what she had to say, holding her arms in front of her in a defensive position. "While on shore leave I spoke with the Council, but they didn't see fit to authorize me to go on any missions. What you said the other day at the apartment, about them being much more agreeable, it didn't seem to be my experience."

Ash remembered back a few hours ago to what Shepard had said while they ate dinner at his apartment with other members of the crew, his enthusiasm in speaking about how much more willing to accept his advice seemed to make up for the repeated times he was ignored. Ashley seemed to have expected this herself.

Confused, he looked at her as though their must have been a mistake "What do you mean, Ash? I saw myself how they were basically sending us out to high priority areas."

"I...I think it might be because I was Udina's choice. They probably went along as a gesture to humanity since Earth was invaded, but after the coup, I think they were relieved that I joined up with you so they wouldn't have to deal with me."

Shepard clearly seemed angered by what he just heard, but at the same time he couldn't deny that her intuition was telling the truth. Ashley was qualified to be a Spectre, he remembered hearing about her ability to escort high level Alliance officials to ships during the assault on Vancouver before she got to the Normandy, and her skill on both Virmire and the Citadel Tower three years ago was more than noteworthy. She was even willing to point a gun at him, protecting the Council with her life. Her allegiance wasn't just to the alliance at this point, it was also to the Council.

"When we get back, I'll make sure to speak with them. That's not fair to you to be a scapegoat for Udina's dealings."

"You would know something about being a scapegoat, wouldn't you, Skipper?" Ashley smiled slightly as she delivered her joke, he responded in kind with a smile that told her she had a point.

"At any rate, my gun is yours. Admiral Hackett has given me free reign of assignments, so I figured why go anywhere else? You could use a good XO this time around, you were slacking before."

"Right, right, it just kind of...slipped my mind with everything that was going on." Shepard quickly tried to establish a believable excuse, not wanting his relationship with Miranda to come up at this particular moment. He had always held out that she would rejoin the crew, especially after Horizon, but it just never came to be.

"Well, now you don't really have any excuses, do you?" Ashley joked once again as she headed for the exit after saluting, off to get her gear.

Shepard waited a bit in the room, his fingers pinching his nose as he attempted a form of self-meditation, having been completely oblivious to who his XO would be in the future. Ashley had the skills, but so did Miranda. So did Garrus, so did Jacob. Even James showed remarkable growth during the war, he was on a solid path to being a great commander.

After a few seconds he realized that Miranda was probably listening in on the conversation the whole time. He chuckled for a second before he spoke loud and clear into the empty room "This lipstick is really hard to wipe off..."

Shepard stood in place counting the seconds, raising a finger for every second that passed. He had guessed five, but it was six before Miranda walked back into the room, ready to say something before she saw Shepard wave his omnitool around.

"Come on Miri, I thought you were better than that."

"I...don't know what you're talking about..." Miranda was caught and she knew it, but didn't want to admit it.

Shepard walked over to her, placing her hand in his, tugging her to follow him out of the room. "Dear Dinah, I have a girlfriend who has some big trust issues, how do I oooof-"

"You're sleeping on the cabin floor tonight."

"Only if you are."

* * *

**10 hours earlier**

"Commander John Shepard, it is with great honor that I promote you to the rank of Captain, and with it I present you the honorary Alliance Medal of Galactic Freedom, for your tireless work in confronting and destroying the Reaper threat and maintaining the highest code of honor for humanity."

Admiral Hackett proudly took the gold medal from his N7 marine guard and placed it around Shepard's neck, the whole event being caught on camera by Diana Allers' robot camera. She would not be joining the Normandy, having hours of footage to put together to give a more complete viewing experience compared to what she showed over the past six months, but was given this exclusive access as her parting gift for doing a commendable job in aiding the war effort.

As Hackett hooked the medal, Shepard turned around to face him, giving a stern face and saluting, initiating the roar and applause of all the crew who were at the bottom of the airlock walkway ramp. The two lowered their hands before Hackett took his hand in a firm shake, using his left hand to brace his arm to show how proud he was at what Shepard accomplished. Turning once again to face the crew, his eyes looking directly at Miranda as he saw her give him a wink that promised much more celebrating when they were alone.

"Normandy crew, load up!" The crew responded with salutes which he returned immediately, and with that the crew boarded their ship, fully repaired and restocked for the mission at hand.

"Thank you, Admiral. We should be back by week's end. If you have any requests during that time, don't hesitate to contact us."

"The only request I ask is to check in on Eden Prime, Captain. From what we understand, outside of the Cerberus incursion that you helped stop, Reaper activity was minimal in the area. If the farmland is safe then it will be a crucial step towards feeding Earth."

"Yes, sir."

With that Admiral Hackett patted the Captain on the shoulder and walked down the ramp, his guards trailing behind him.

Now that the pomp and circumstance was out of the way, Shepard walked into the airlock, allowing the moment to hit him. He was home.

Joker took up his position in the pilot's chair, no alcohol evident (yet). James sat next to him in the co-pilot chair, looking through all the diagnostics as the ships engines fired up.

_"All crew standby, Normandy is preparing to leave the dock."_ A light jostle let everyone know that the clamps were off, and the ship backed out of the dock, turning 180 degrees to leave the Citadel's arms.

Shepard walked down to the CIC, the crew logging in to their stations, Traynor at her terminal scrolling through various locations. Stepping up to the dais Shepard called up the galaxy map, set the coordinates for the Utopia System, and let Joker take care of the rest. Shepard hadn't experienced what happened when the relays weren't functioning, and wondered if the ship would be lucky on the first pass.

_"ETA to Charon Relay, 10 minutes"_

Shepard logged in to his terminal, making sure everything was in place. His terminal was filled with messages of praise and congratulations from various contacts across the galaxy, but nothing from Samara yet. _You can't win them all_, Shepard thought, hoping that she would be available for later missions.

_"Charon Relay in sight, all crew standby for jump"_

Shepard was surprised that he had lost 10 minutes looking through his terminal, but waited to see what would happen as the jump arrive. He looked over to Traynor, who looked apprehensive. She noticed his eyes were on her, and attempted to have a stronger upper lip.

"Relax Specialist, unless the quarians fire on us we have nothing to worry about now."

"The first time we failed to jump, it was this weird sense of being pulled and then realizing you have to take a step to brace yourself, otherwise you'd fall down. You just don't expect that after all this time on a ship."

Feeling the Normandy pull forward, Shepard was waiting for the experience Traynor just described, but it never came. It felt just like a normal jump.

_"Jump successful, en route to Nexus Cluster"_

"Look at that, Captain, you're our good luck charm." Traynor lightly tapped the medal that was still around Shepard's neck, her playful manner also showing relief that things were back to normal.

Smiling, Shepard surprised her with his next words. "Traynor, your honest opinion."

"Sir?"

"LC Williams, how was she at commanding the Normandy?"

Looking away for a second, the specialist's eyes returned to look Shepard in the eyes with conviction. "In many ways she was doing her best imitation of you. She led by example, but allowed the crew to slack off as long as they did their jobs. However, she had no real control over your ground squad, they seemed to do what they wanted to, and she never attempted to keep them in line, or at least have them recognize the chain of command. It seemed only Lieutenant Vega willingly accepted her orders as opposed to paying lip service."

Surprised at how honest Traynor was, especially when it came to a fellow Marine, Shepard gave her a satisfactory look. "I see."

"I think you should speak with Garrus about it, sir, he can explain the Joker incident better since he was there, it might be the best example of what I mean."

"Understood. I'll be in my cabin for the next few hours, settling in like all the rest of the crew. If there's anything to report let me know."

"Aye aye, Captain. Oh! I almost forgot, your hamster _is_ alive, he's being cared for in the crew bunks, I'll make sure he's brought up to you in a few hours."

With a salute and a grateful smile Shepard hit the elevator, stepping inside and heading up to his cabin.

Traynor's opinion of Ashley's leadership seemed to reflect his own. She was a great soldier, and with Shepard to guide her she was nearly unstoppable at her task. But being an XO meant being able to exert control when he wasn't around, and he wondered if she could be up to that task without letting doubt come into her mind. It was all over her face when they stared each other down on the Citadel, the lives of the Council in both of their hands.

Miranda, on the other hand, had nothing _but_ a reputation for being a hard-ass, and she had the thick skin to deal with any crew who second guessed her. What she did lack, although she was slowly starting to change, was the human touch, to realize that sometimes you lighten up in order to not have the crew buckle under the pressure. He could hear her counterargument right now in his head, _those who buckle didn't deserve to be there in the first place_, but that was always something better said in theory than in practice.

He wanted to give the position to Garrus, as anyone on the ship knew he had the skill to handle most situations. And his respect among Miranda and Ashley meant they couldn't really argue with the decision.

As the elevator arrived to the cabin, Shepard could smell Miranda's lingering scent, that clean aura that replaced any perfume she would have bothered to wear.

As the door slid open he saw his cabin, much of it left just the way he remembered it, the crew honoring the location by leaving it as intact as they could, the sole exceptions seeming to be his space hamster, Astro, and fresh linens placed on his bed. The husk head no doubt vaporized due to the blast, and looking at his aquarium he saw that the only thing there was the blue light and refracting water. He once had a diverse group of fish in the tank, just like the Normandy's crew. Then it dawned on him. _Javik_...

"I remember your prothean member saying something about being fond of fish at your apartment a few weeks back. It seems he wasn't one to joke around." Miranda said as she placed some of her clothes in the shelf of Shepard's drawer.

It was never spoken about, but it didn't have to be, Miranda was staying in his cabin. His clothing needs were so limited and he maintained very little material possessions otherwise, so it wouldn't bother him. To be honest, he probably had a greater footprint in the armory of the shuttle bay than he did here.

"You always like being on top, don't you?" Shepard joked as he saw where she was placing her newly supplied clothes, her very own alliance uniforms being provided in his requisition orders.

"Yes, I do." Even now she was wearing the standard Alliance uniform that the likes of Traynor and Daniels wore on a daily basis, her cat suit and light armor being placed in Shepard's locker for any groundside missions. Shutting the drawer she looked over as Shepard walked down the steps towards her, placing his arms around her waist.

They stood together in the middle of the cabin, just looking into each others eyes, Miranda seeing Shepard's contented face, he had his home back, and he had her. She blushed slightly, not used to maintaining eye contact like that when it came to matters of love.

She reached around his neck, unhooking the medal as gently as she could. "Alliance Medal of Galactic Freedom, huh?" Looking at the detail on the medal it contained the standard alliance logo on a silhouette of earth, large stars in the background, presumably to stand for every colonized human world to date.

"It's the first of its kind, I'm sure they had trouble trying to make the name sound important but not too bombastic."

"The perfect medal for the perfect man..." Miranda used her biotics to slowly rest the medal on Shepard's desk, placing it right next to his original dog tags that Liara had returned to him.

"Only because I have the perfect woman by my side."

"I set that up for you."

"Of course, behind every strong man is a strong woman."

"Does that mean the position of executive officer is mine, Captain?" Her eyes showed her confidence, knowing there were very few who he could even consider. Giving him a seductive look to sweeten deal, Shepard did his best to show a strong poker face, his mind still not made up, he had to speak to Garrus as Traynor had asked.

Doing his best to play off her remark in a flirtatious manner, trying not to commit to anything, he replied "You're on a very, very small list of candidates. I might need to call you back for additional interviews..."

Shepard leaned in to kiss her, the type of kiss which was slow and methodical, taking as much time as they wanted to.

After breaking the kiss, Shepard showed a slight grin on his face. While still holding Miranda, he leaned to his left, falling with her like a tree in the woods. They hit the mattress, a small laugh coming from Miranda as they landed, slapping him on the chest.

"Not right now, John, the crew hasn't settled in yet."

"I know, but we can still lay here and watch the stars, like the old days."

Miranda cuddled closer to Shepard, her left leg splayed over his as she tried to get back in her usual position, Shepard's hand lightly trailing over her body.

As Shepard looked up at the stars, he saw that there was something weird on the skylight. It looked like it was something on the other side of the glass hull, some kind of writing scribbled in paint.

"What the...' I'm the better shot. G.V. '..."

"Ha!" Miranda's laugh almost brought with it a snort, admiring the placement of his friend's message.

"What the hell was Garrus doing on top of the Normandy? "

* * *

**5 hours earlier**

It was right before supper time, at least by the Normandy's time. Passing through the relay would take another day or so, so for the time being it was a matter of making sure the crew was in good spirits and that the students were doing fine.

Stepping off the elevator onto the crew deck, a rested Shepard saw that the war memorial had received one more name to its list: EDI and David Anderson. His heart sank upon seeing those names, but was glad to see their names were honored on the wall, and that he would do everything he could to make sure the peace they died for would still be around after the war.

His eyes were distracted as the Grissom Academy students were heading into the Port Observation Deck. That seems to be the area they claimed as their own, and made the most sense as it offered the most forms of entertainment. Walking in, he saw that they had been sitting down talking with Kasumi and Ensign Copeland. Oriana was also interested in what the Yeoman was talking about, giving everyone in attendance the story of what happened during the war. Seeing the captain arrive on deck, the story was paused, the heads of everyone turned and looked up.

"At ease, everyone, just making sure you're all enjoying the ride."

"I have to say Shep, a faceoff with a reaper? On foot? That seems a little too good to be true."

"It's true, we've got the comm chatter recorded!" Copeland was first to defend his story. He was always a good kid, wanting to learn about things despite his clerical duties, he reminded Shepard a lot of a younger Corporal Jenkins in his enthusiasm.

"Copeland's right, it was a faceoff, but with the help of the quarian fleet. So it was a bunch of faces, really."

"I've heard the stories of Rannoch on the extranet, from before the geth, they always made it seem so beautiful..." Oriana was lost in her thoughts about the planet, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Make nice with Tali and she can get you some beach front property. She is an admiral, after all."

Shepard was joking, but Oriana took the information in with a resolute nod_. For as similar as she is to Miranda, when she differs, she differ wildly._

Sitting next to Oriana was Prangley, his face filled with amazement at not only the stories, but the ship. "I can't believe how cool this ship is, Captain! And you can pretty much do whatever you want with it!"

"In a few years it's going to be standard fare for human frigates, so if you guys continue with the alliance you might get to be aboard one soon. Or is all this training just to be the best biotiball athlete?"

"Nah, after what we went through, I kind of just want to work on helping future human biotics, help reduce the infant mortality rate and all that." Prangley's modest words seemed to garner a few nods from his classmates. Shepard watched as Oriana paid close attention to his words, her eyes lingering a bit before looking away.

"Oh crap, I got lost in the story. Dinner! Right on it, Shep!" Kasumi recognized the time and hopped off the bar stool, realizing that she did promise to run the kitchen a few days before. Shepard would have said it was just a joke, but remembering how good she cooked he kept his mouth shut.

"Ori, chop chop, you need to learn!" Kasumi said as she clapped her hands and left the deck. She immediately got up and followed Kasumi out the room.

"Keep them entertained, Copeland, and don't forget to mention the clone?" Shepard patted him on the back and left, hearing murmurings between the students.

Stepping into the mess hall, he saw that Liara's door was locked, as usual, trying to keep her identity as Shadow Broker as secret as she could with the additional crew around. He wanted to speak with Garrus as Traynor suggested, before the other duties of being on the ship beckoned.

Passing by the med bay windows, Shepard was glad to see Jack of all people talking with Chakwas, having nothing better to do than provide Brynn with a quick medical checkup while the women talked about their journey.

Reaching the battery, Shepard waited a moment to let whoever was inside, possibly with another female dextro, look more presentable than the last time he opened the door. To his surprise, Tali was in the battery, but was resting in Garrus' makeshift cot while he was busy away on the cannons, as always.

"Dinner should hopefully be ready in a bit, guys. If Kasumi can do what she does with amino foods for dextro foods, you should be in for a treat."

"I've been eating rations for so long I'd stand for anything _you_ prepared, Shepard." Tali was rocking herself back and forth as she replied coolly.

"Don't swing too hard, Tali, you might fall and crack your helmet."

"Ha ha, 'Captain.' Don't forget I'm still an admiral, you've got a few more ranks to go before I take you seriously." This banter is the type he wouldn't really have with anyone outside of Miranda, so the three of them getting a few minutes together was nice, before business reared its head.

"Garrus, Traynor said I should speak to you about something regarding Joker."

Sighing, Garrus made a motion with his hand to rest against his workbench. "I was expecting that. Make yourself comfortable, Shepard." Tali didn't leave, so she presumably would have something to say about this incident.

"With Cortez back on Earth before we jumped, and EDI being gone, we didn't have another pilot to relieve Jeff. I guess we should have taken EDI's loss into account but he didn't seem to have any problems until we got off Zorya. He started to drink. A lot."

Shepard started to cross his arms, thinking to himself why no one stepped in. Garrus noticed the shift in mannerisms and attempted to elaborate on that last point.

"To be fair, Shepard, a lot of us were drinking after we got airborne. We had found out the reapers were gone, you were alive, and society didn't crumble. Jeff wasn't piloting the ship into the sun, and once we were able to jump without fear of being attacked it seemed fine. I do remember how you and a certain Cerberus operative celebrated after the Collectors were destroyed and we docked at Omega..."

Shepard wanted to defend that time, which saw copious amounts of alcohol disappear from the bar, but not wanting to carry the argument he raised his hand to continue. He could hear Tali's light chuckle to his right.

"Anyways, Joker started to get very mouthy and distant, and Ashley's answer was to just let him be. I came up to speak with him, try and do a much more handsome imitation of you," Garrus paused for added effect, "and he was just looking for a fight. Sadly, I took the bait a bit, but didn't smack him around like he was wanting. It was Tali and I who docked the ship at the Citadel."

That odd dock wasn't just his imagination, Shepard realized.

"So what was Ash's response after Joker picked a fight with you?"

Garrus tried his best to think before he spoke, looking at Tali for a bit before she gave a nod indicating it was best just to be blunt.

"She didn't do anything, really. No conversation with him, just made sure James had him hit the sleep pod for a bit. I don't know if she was trying to give him too much breathing room on account of EDI, and I can't say I would have done anything different. But I also know I'm not commander of the ship."

"I think she did the right thing, Shepard." Tali chimed in, although he didn't know if she was trying to defend a friend more on personal reasons as opposed to professional.

"I've got to be honest, Garrus, I thought you would have stepped up to command the ship while I was gone."

"Come on, Shepard, I know you're friends with a turian but it would have given the wrong message to the crew, they might have even thought I would divert the ship to Palaven, hand over all secrets."

"Garrus, don't _give_ me that crap..." Shepard snapped a little with his response, it being more on edge than he would have liked it to be as it left his mouth. He caught both of them by surprise, and raised his hand with his head held low to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I just...I don't know if you didn't want the job for political reasons or if you just didn't want to lead. You know you've got the skills, Garrus." Shepard couldn't help but feel like he was acting like a concerned parent.

Garrus took the apology in stride, knowing his friend thought the world of him and didn't mean it like that. "Your optimism aside, Ashley did a good enough job until then. She surveyed the crash site, looked for supplies with James, tried to give some normalcy while repairs were going on. Don't let that incident get in the way of her performance. And at least Joker has stayed relatively docile since then, either getting it out of his system or knowing not to act like that while you're around."

"I understand, Garrus, it's just that I have another person who believes she should be XO, and she _has_ had experience in the role."

"Miranda's joining the crew permanently?" Tali asked, slightly confused. She must have thought that she was on the mission more as a consultant because they were taking out a Cerberus station.

Shepard nodded his head in the affirmative. He knew the two weren't the best of friends, but they could work well together when it mattered. "Play nice, Tali. Now that Oriana's safe she's opened up a lot to others, you might even cheer with the cheerleader sometimes."

"Pfahhh" Tali waved her hand in a dismissive tone, but there was no real animosity behind the gesture.

"If she and Jack can patch things up, so can you."

"You just want us all to kiss, I bet." Shepard just chuckled to himself a bit. _Is her relationship with Garrus increasing her verbal jabs, or is it just my imagination?_

"Look guys, we're the best the galaxy has right now, and we're going to be working together again. I'm just trying to make it as seamless as possible."

"We know, Shepard, we're just giving you a hard time."

"Alright, dinner should be soon, we can talk about some lighter fare, like kill counts." Shepard turned to exit before he heard Garrus say "I heard that joke from Jacob, you can't use the same one twice!" The door then hissed shut.

* * *

**4 hours earlier**

The mess hall was full of commotion, the seats all occupied. Even Liara had snuck out to enjoy a meal with everyone, taking the plate that Kasumi and Oriana had made. It seemed to be something that resembled beef, and surprisingly enough it was beef, for at least one meal. Shepard didn't think there was even a chance to get that because of the current postwar climate, it must have been directly taken from Hackett's private reserve.

Liara came to sit down at the squad table, filled with everyone new and old. Shepard and Miranda sat together, moving over to make room for the asari. Garrus and Ashley sat on the other side of the middle, the others in the group filling out the remaining spots. The other crew members were near the med bay, talking with the students and Chakwas.

A few members were on other shifts and would miss out on the hot meal, but for those who were enjoying it fresh out of the oven they were won over.

"Hoods, this is seriously good stuff," James said as he continued to eat away, finding another nickname to dispense.

"I think I just heard you volunteer to learn her recipe, James." Shepard said, keeping his promise to get the crew to learn.

"Captain Loco, not even gonna argue with that. Sure." That gave everyone at the table a chuckle, expecting more of an argument from the Lieutenant.

"I'm glad everyone's enjoying it, it's a special pot roast recipe I learned in Paris during a much more glamorous heist." Kasumi proudly remembered.

"I know it's not what you guys have, but this is really good. Like a, what did you say it was, Shepard?"

"Curry."

"Curry, yes. For a first attempt, I have to say I'm impressed, Kasumi."

"I hope Tali's enjoying it in the med bay," Liara mentioned, Tali's immune system needing to enjoy the meal away from other airborne contaminants. She had been used to the nutrient paste that the ship and rations supplied, but wanted to try Kasumi's meal.

"If we see Chakwas running into the med bay, we'll know." Jacob mentioned, Brynn eating for two to his side.

As the meal progressed, a few finished early and excused themselves, wanting to get back to their posts to allow for others to enjoy their meals on rotation. At the table Shepard, Garrus, and Grunt were enjoying second (and in Grunt's case, fourth) helpings, while the women seemed to be drinking their beverages, taking in the conversations. Tali had joined them, complimenting Kasumi on a well done meal that made her miss the cooking on the liveships.

As Garrus and Shepard continued to eat, Miranda asked a question, phrasing it in a way that seemed to be all but confirming a previous conversation. "So John, when will you announce to the crew your new XO?"

He loved Miranda, but knew she was doing this on purpose, to reestablish the pecking order in front of the key members of the crew. It could have been done more tactfully and he knew she knew that.

"Wait, Skipper, did you already pick Miss Lawson?" Ashley asked, genuinely confused, however her emphasis on the "miss" portion of her sentence contained an added emphasis that could have been picked up on by anyone, slightly emphasizing Miranda's slightly older age compared to the others in the crew. Well, outside of Liara and Zaeed.

Completely cornered in the conversation, Shepard didn't know what to do or say. He still hadn't made a decision yet, and honestly expected to make the decision when they were at least twelve hours out from Zion.

"I'm sorry Ashley, did John give you the impression that you were going to be the XO?"

"I thought it was just assumed, Miranda, since I was in charge while the Normandy made it back to dock, and this _was_ repositioned as an Alliance vessel for the last year."

"Of course, and I understand you did an admirable job, but before that was the case I was John's XO, and I made sure to know the Normandy inside and out, like the hidden arm compartment that would be below Lieutenant Vega's chair. If the Lieutenant would be so kind as to stand up and rotate the chair 180 degrees and lift it up, he should feel the chair pop up to reveal an M-9 Tempest."

"Sure, let me just..." James did as he was asked, turning the chair and pulling up. That alone surprised everyone at the table, and when he pulled up the submachine gun a look of amazement was on nearly everyone's face (Jacob being the exception), Tali giving an impressed whistle with what she just saw.

"Surely you can understand why it would make the most sense for me to resume my duties, wouldn't you, Ashley?" Miranda asked, her face giving a slight triumphant smirk as the Lieutenant Commander was at a loss for words.

"I understand a gun under the mattress, Miri, but a mess hall chair?" Shepard quietly said, impressed but confused as to the location. She simply gave him a confident smile and rubbed her leg against his under the table.

"So Skipper, what's your decision?" Ashley did her best to cut to the chase, not wanting that impressive recollection Miranda provided to last in the crew's mind.

"Well, usually I would..." Shepard looked to Garrus, hoping to have him get the idea and throw his hat into the ring, but he saw his friend with a mouthful of food, giving him a look that said _"What can I do? The food!"_

Surprising everyone at the table, and before Garrus could swallow and say something, Joker had cut in with a simple question as he took his meal back to the cockpit "Why doesn't Lawson and Williams fight for it in the shuttle bay?"

Shepard immediately wanted to say something to his pilot, who basically did a drive-by antagonizing, but before he could say a thing the two women nearly blurted out their answers.

"Sure."

"Sounds fair to me."

Shepard looked around the table, expecting someone, anyone, to try and talk the two women down, but he was greeted with silence, mainly because the squad wanted to see what would happen. Javik had a sneer on his face, Grunt could barely contain a laugh. This...this is not happening...

"Should we meet up in the shuttle bay at twenty hundred hours? That gives us time to prepare."

"A perfect idea."

"I'll, uh... I'll go clear the hangar, there are some tools down there and..."

"Yeah, let me go help you, Lieutenant," Jacob said, taking Brynn's tray and excusing himself from the table, which still did not know how to react to the situation.

As Miranda and Ashley gave each other muted smiles, they too excused themselves to go change. During these past few minutes Shepard simply had his elbows on the table, his nose resting on his hands.

When he knew they had left earshot, he could hear Kasumi and Grunt give in to their laughs. Even Liara had to chuckle slightly, realizing this actually might be the best course of action.

Shepard finally let out a loud sigh before saying in a low, but commanding voice "Don't try to show sides during this, just accept whoever wins. Inform Chakwas. And please say a prayer to whoever you believe in for _my_ safety."

* * *

**30 minutes ago**

"I'm surprised you don't want to see me win, John."

Miranda had finished changing her clothes, donning a black workout uniform and Alliance training shoes. She chose not to put her hair back, more than likely out of confidence that she would win this match before the sweat became a problem for her.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Miri. I'm going to make sure these gloves are snug on your hands, I'm going to kiss you on the forehead, and then I'm going to head to the Starboard observation deck and wonder how it got to this point."

"I _will_ be your XO, John." Miranda's voice became stern and powerful. Shepard knew that type of confidence is what drove him to her, and he tried to put it out of his head for the time being, doing his best to remain as objective as he could.

"I'm not doubting your ability, Miri."

"I know you're trying to be objective and in command, and I respect that, it's incredibly alluring, but it wouldn't kill you to want your girlfriend to be your second in command."

He didn't want to say it out loud, partly for fear that he might jinx the outcome, so Shepard stuck to his stated goal. He made sure Miranda's gloves were snug and secure with tape, he kissed her on the forehead (adding a kiss on the lips), and walked with her to the elevator.

As they got in, Shepard hit the button for the crew deck, Miranda hitting the shuttle bay. He took his hands in hers, and before he left to get off the elevator, he kissed her one more time before saying anything.

"Listen to Jacob. Vega's going to be coaching Ashley, and marines know how to throw punches if nothing else. And try not to kill each other, if not for my sake for the sake of the crew. Ok?"

Miranda smiled, knowing what he was trying to say without saying it. She gave him one more quick kiss and let him leave the lift. "Understood, Captain."

**Did that opening scene throw you for a loop a bit? It was an attempt at making it seem like a regular fight until the scene was pulled back a bit. The XO spot can go either way at this point, so let me know what you think about it.**


	10. XOXO

10: XOXO

The fight had been going on for twelve minutes now, something that highlighted the discipline and stubbornness of its contenders. After the first three minutes James attempted to call a round, to give the two a chance to breathe, but trying to step in the way just put him in the line of fire, and he was trained not to take those hits. Shepard's matches with James and Garrus lasted ten minutes at most, but they also realized if they went all out someone might be injured before a key mission.

Miranda and Ashley were different. Whatever feelings they felt for one another, being on opposite sides of the coin, was all being laid for bare in the shuttle bay, coming off their hands with each punch. For as much as the idea of fighting for the executive officer position seemed ridiculous, it was better than if the two faced off during the Citadel Coup a few months back. If Miranda was there, Shepard realized, she would have shot Ashley immediately. It was something he knew she would do out of protecting him but it wouldn't lessen the guilt he would have felt.

As the crowd continued to watch, the two women circled one more time around the middle of the bay, knowing this would probably be the final push.

Miranda slowly moved into arms length, begging with that action for Ashley to attack first. She was hoping to block her arm and then go right for the kill.

Ashley knew what she was trying to do, and kept pivoting once more.

Suddenly, Miranda stopped moving to Ashley's right, bouncing to her left. Ashley wanted to end the fight now, and threw her right hand with the same force that had knocked Miranda down earlier.

As she threw the punch, she realized it was a fakeout, and couldn't do anything as her right hand was effectively blocking off her left hand at this point in the swing. As Miranda immediately pushed off her right foot and cleanly dodged Ashley's fist, she leaned in and with her left fist, cleanly punched the LC's right abdomen.

This punch took Ashley down, falling to her knees, her right hand trying but failing to keep her up. _Damn it, I did exactly what she wanted..._

The crowd started counting, not in an uproarious manner, but quietly realizing that Ashley wouldn't get up in time. As they said ten. Ashley was still thinking about how she let herself down, and even Shepard down.

It was what happened next that surprised everyone. Instead of James or Tali or even Liara helping Ashley up, it was her opponent. Miranda had placed her arm around her shoulder and lifted her up gently, making sure she was able to regain her footing before she let go.

"Good fight, Lieutenant Commander. I can see why John cares for you." Miranda said, no double meaning to her words, and any sense of hostility had faded away over the past fifteen minutes.

Ashley gave a slight nod and smile to Miranda. "Good fight, XO. You're more than just a pretty face." It was a moment that allowed Miranda to give a slight smirk, as she let her arm go now that she was able to stand on her own, James coming over with water and a towel to help Ashley, Chakwas immediately running a scant o make sure there was no internal damage.

Turning around Miranda took a towel from Jacob, Kasumi providing her a water bottle as though she was providing a queen her sword or scepter. She was too tired to chide her for her exaggeration, but a certain part of her felt glad that she had finally established her spot on the Normandy beyond being Shepard's lover.

The crowd slowly dispersed from the circle, talking with others about what they just saw. Miranda took the moment to quietly step out and head back up to the cabin, a warm shower being what she needed to relax.

* * *

Miranda let the relief of winning the fight wash away with the water. She could feel the left side of her face swelling, silently blessing her genetic perfection for being able to heal in a relatively short time, maybe even completely by the time they reach Zion. Her hands were sore, the knuckles losing a small bit of skin despite being wrapped.

As she turned off the shower, she realized that she had forgotten to bring a towel to hang on the rack. Realizing John wouldn't mind the scenery, she stepped out of the bathroom, only to be greeted by a towel being held right in front of her. Shepard had been leaning on the wall next to the door, waiting for her to realize what she had misplaced.

She took the towel, smiling even though he couldn't see her face, and wrapped it around her chest. She was surprised that another towel made its appearance in front of the door, this time to help expedite her hair drying.

"Sorry I don't have a hair dryer, was never really an issue with me," Shepard deadpanned, finally showing his face to her as she had gotten as much moisture as she could out of her hair.

"It's ok John, someone on this ship should have one, it can be the first order of my reign of terror," she said, tongue in cheek. The Ice Queen looked ready to return to her throne.

Smiling, Shepard walked toward her, and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the bed. It was an elegant gesture, showing that he didn't want her to exert herself anymore after the fight. As far as she knew he never watched the match, and was simply making it up to her. Placing her gently on the bed, he caressed her face, looking at the bruises. He was thankful that Ashley hadn't been able to give her a black eye.

"I don't like seeing you hurt like this, especially when you could have avoided the whole thing." His eyes never left hers, he was trying to be as honest as he could be without using any levity or jokes.

"That's very noble of you, now you know how I feel when you go running around into explosions." Miranda's thoughts went back to when she saw him unconscious on the Citadel, his face swollen and bloodied, bruises so deep they looked like they would permanently stay purple.

Shepard began to kiss her bruises gently, his stubble creating a weird sensation that seemed to massage her face in a pleasing manner. He truly was trying to be gentle with her, not really knowing how to react to her being injured. When Kai Leng had nearly killed her, she did her best to hide any real pain from him, not wanting to show weakness to not only Shepard, but Garrus and Ashley as well. It was only as she left to the Citadel that she had shown how hurt she had been, confiding only in Oriana who had treated her wounds.

"Roll over, you need a massage. Captain's orders." She smirked as he pulled rank, complying with his command, making sure that as she rolled over she let her hair get close to his face, knowing that he would gain increased desire as her smell lingered in the air.

"Careful, Miri, sometimes you get a little too smart for your own good."

"Whatever do you mean, Captain?" Miranda playfully asked, upping the ante by unwrapping her towel, her naked back exposed. She could hear Shepard trying to control his self after being tempted yet again.

Any cold Miranda felt as she lay exposed disappeared as Shepard's hands slowly massaged her shoulders, his warmth bringing a comforting feeling throughout her sore body. He rarely offered these moments, instead preferring that they cuddle on the bed or that she rest in his lap, but maybe that's what made this feel all the more special.

"So where will the XO's office be located, ma'am?"

"I could always kick Liara out of my office, but I'm feeling kind. We can reposition the meeting room to accommodate my needs. From what you've said it was rarely used. It will also allow me to be easily available to anyone, show that I'm not as distant as they were led to believe."

"I never said a thing against you," Shepard replied at the subtle accusation, providing a little more pressure as he said that, a slight punishment for thinking such a thing. She relaxed even more, trying to maintain control.

"Of course, John, but I'm sure Tali and Garrus or Joker might have said otherwise."

"Garrus was rooting for you."

"I'm surprised, I thought soldiers would stick together..." Miranda paused, realizing what he just said. "You _were_ watching the fight."

"We were watching from the Engineering floor windows. I couldn't resist. Every guy wants to see pretty women fight."

"Why don't you just make it a mandatory part of serving on the Normandy, hmmm?"

"Not walking into that minefield. Anyway, as far as Garrus goes, keep him in control of the battery and other weapon systems, he'll even support you overthrowing my benevolent regime."

"Tempting...mmmmm that's nice..." His massaging was making her lose her train of thought, "but I settle for nothing but the best..."

"Any other plans for the ship?"

"Clean it up, for one. There's no need to have so much wires and tubes dragged around. I can have the students help with that immediately. I know David Archer showed uncanny technical ability, it should be an excellent task for him to work on while you clean out the station in your usual violent fashion."

"Seems like you have it all figured out. I guess I'll just have to relegate myself to shooting stuff, providing massages and providing myself for your physical enjoyment."

"An excellent idea, Captain." With that Miranda rolled around, her naked body fully inviting Shepard for an evening's entertainment, which he more than gladly attended.

* * *

Ashley left the women's bathroom feeling more relaxed than she thought she would. She didn't plan on losing, but whatever feelings she had about Miranda had been erased, the woman deserving the respect that she earned. More than anything, her helping Ashley up off the metal floor showed that despite he reputation before she was a part of Shepard's crew, she was providing another part of her character that Ashley never knew was there.

Dressed in standard alliance regs, she made her way to the bunks to get some sleep, trying to adjust to the Normandy clock. Despite losing, the crew showed nothing but respect for her, treating her not as a pariah as she expected but let her know through their actions that she was still an integral part of Shepard's squad.

"Lieutenant Commander, can I speak with you for a moment?" The Australian voice made Ashley wonder if Miranda had returned to gloat or immediately exert her new power in some devious way, but turning around she saw that it was Oriana. She hadn't watched the fight, not wanting to distract her sister, and spent her time in the starboard observation deck reading.

"You can call me Ashley, Oriana, it's fine." Ashley said with a smile. Whatever she felt towards Miranda wasn't fair to place on her sister.

"I just wanted to say, I know that you and my sister might not have, well, ever gotten on the right foot, but she really is protective of her crew. She's tough but it's only so she doesn't have to deal with caring for others. I think John, I mean Captain Shepard, I mean..."

Oriana's hands were moving as fast as her mouth was, trying to get the words out but failing. After taking a deep breath, and much to Ashley's amusement attempted to continue. "...what I'm trying to say is that she's changed, even in the relatively short time I've known her. Her loyalty is to John first, and then his crew. And I think you've more than earned her respect. I saw her face as she went up to the cabin, that kind of punch is what she usually attempts to put on others."

Ashley smiled, glad that it seemed that whatever ice the two women had placed in front of each other in the past year had been thawed (or rather punched) away with that fight. "Thank you, Oriana. So where are you resting for the night?"

"Kasumi and I are bunking in the Life Support Room, there's just too many others in the observation decks and we don't want to disturb the crew. You should come hang out, there's more than enough room for us, and I think you'll like Kasumi's personality just as much as you liked her cooking."

"She did know her way around the kitchen..."

"See? She's already won you over. We were just going to have some tea before going to bed, come on!" Oriana's enthusiasm at trying to mend bridges was infectious, and Ashley gave in. She reminded her in a lot of ways of her younger sisters, and with that realization saw why Miranda was so protective about certain things. _Maybe we have more in common than I thought..._

* * *

"That was...that was good." Shepard said as he regained his breath, Miranda positioning herself in his arm, half her body on his chest, a happy smile as she looked at his eyes, seeing his satisfaction with what they just did.

"Just good, John?" She said as she covered their chests with the bedsheet, trapping the heat.

"If I say it's great all the time, it diminishes the value of the word. We'll get complacent."

Resting her head on his chest, they enjoyed the silence for a while, the soft hum of the ship's engines providing the comforting white noise that lulled them closer to sleep. Before he let sleep take over, Shepard said one last thing.

"Hackett had asked us to check out Eden Prime's colonies after we secure the station. Seems they weren't really touched by the Reapers, so that means they should be able to provide provisions for rebuilding Earth."

"I've never been to Eden Prime."

"Really? No Cerberus missions to protect the Alliance's breadbasket?"

"I was always assigned to missions to stop anyone from even getting near the planet. I also don't think I could pass as an innocent farmer's daughter, wouldn't you agree?"

Miranda's joke gave Shepard some nice images to imagine for the moment, a slight pinch on his abdomen coming when Miranda knew what he was thinking.

"I think you'll like it, Miri, the sunsets against the plains, it's beautiful stuff. Even when the geth are trying to kill you."

The two sat in silence for a bit until Shepard again received a pinch on his stomach.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"You were supposed to say 'it's not as beautiful as your eyes.' "

"Such a fragile ego."

"You've made me go all soft, you have to take responsibility now."

Kissing Miranda on her forehead, her eyes looking up to make contact with his, Shepard said those words that became so much easier to say over recent days.

"Wherever we go, whatever we face, I want you to know that I love you, Miri."

"I love you too, John. Always will."

He kissed her again on her forehead, the two shuffling slightly to get in position to fall asleep, in about fifteen more hours they would be raiding a Cerberus station to eliminate the group with extreme prejudice. And it just felt right to do so.

* * *

While her students bunked in the crew deck, Jack stepped back into her hideaway below engineering. Some of the reasoning was nostalgia, some other parts were that she just wanted to be alone from the kids for a bit. She thought putting them on the Normandy would let their questions be answered simply by being in proximity to everyone who fought during the war, but half the time they asked their questions to her, leading her to constantly respond that she doesn't know what the fuck happened.

"Aw man, the shits got rid of my cot..." Jack mumbled to herself as she used her biotics to move the supply crates around, arranging them to make herself a makeshift bed. While she looked at a datapad, above her head before she turned in, she heard male and female laughter coming down the stairs. Her first instinct was that it might have been some of her students looking to find a quiet place to make out, but when it became apparent it was Ken and Gabby, Jack couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"What the hell are you guys up to?" She said with a confused look.

The two engineers immediately gasped at seeing Jack, thinking no one was down there. "Jack? Whu...whu...what are you doing here?" Donnelly sputtered out finally.

"Nothing as extravagant as what you two were up to. Some scotch to go with some heavy petting, eh?" Jack smirked as she realized the two were showing signs of being a bit tipsy. During the Collector mission, Jack noticed the sexual tension between the two, and it seemed when they were brought back aboard during the war they finally made the next step. This place has more people hooking up than in Purgatory...

"Well, you see, uh, it was because, um, poker! Yeah, we were going to play some poker down here while the kids were using the observation deck! Yeah! And, um-"

"Give it a rest, Kenneth, we've been caught. Again." Daniels said, done hiding her face in embarrassment.

"Wait, how often do you guys come down here? Who else does?" Jack's anger seemed misplaced, as even she realized she wasn't on the ship for the past year. Even still, this hideaway was hers now that she returned, and she wanted to know who had been sullying it.

"Just us as far as we know..." Donnelly said, rubbing the back of his head.

Daniels chimed in with a look of recollection on her face "Well, I have seen Garrus and Tali sneak down here on occasion, mainly while we were on Zorya."

"I thought that was because Tali needed Garrus' help with welding some places?"

"Kenneth, I swear you're too dense sometimes..."

"Shepard and the cheerleader, you two, Garrus and Tali, Joker and EDI, is there something in the recycled water?" Jack really was at a loss for words now, seriously wondering if what she just said had some shred of validity.

"I'd say Williams and Vega are up to something, but it's hard to tell with those two."

"Oh yeah, they're definitely working on some night maneuvers in the shuttle bay." There was Donnelly's patented sex talk making its belated appearance.

"I better get my kids off this ship soon, otherwise they might get pregnant or _I'll_ get pregnant or some shit..."

With that thought sinking in to everyone in the area, Daniels said something that surprised the biotic "Glad to have you back, Jack. Even if you scared the hell out of us for half the time we were on the ship with you, it was just too...dour on the ship without the old crew."

"Yeah, Liara and Williams never had to be talked down by Shepard, they were all teases."

Jack took the compliment well, her eyes hiding her nonchalant face. Using her biotics she pulled the bottle of Scotch from Donnelly's hand, taking a swig.

"Come sit down, catch me up on what happened, you guys can go screw in front of the drive core later." Jack joked as she took another swig of the liquor before handing the bottle to Daniels as the two sat down with her.

"Oh we couldn't do that, Jack. That spot's for Shepard's conquests."

Not being able to swallow the whiskey in time, Jack spit the liquor into the air, following it up with repeated coughs at what she just heard, the two engineers being unable to hold back their laughter at her surprise.

* * *

"Wake up, John."

Shepard slowly opened his eyes, seeing Miranda at the foot of their bed, fully dressed in her new alliance uniform and wearing a face of impatience as she chewed on a protein bar, he remembered it was her morning tradition last time she was on the Normandy.

His arm that had held Miranda's body during the night was still acting like it she was there, leading him to again wonder how she was able to sneak out of the bed without an N7 soldier noticing.

"How are you able to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sneak out of bed without me knowing."

"A slight use of biotics, a low level pulse a few minutes before I get up can trick your body into still thinking there's some heat there."

"I smell a cheat." Shepard playfully threw one of the pillows at her as he got up, Miranda rolled her eyes, easily blocking it and floating it back on the mattress. He walked over to her and ran a calloused hand on her face, checking to see that the bruises were nearly healed, Miranda's slight use of makeup helping to hide it more.

"You look good, Miss Lawson."

"Why thank you, Captain." She let him kiss her lightly on the lips before a flick of her wrist brought the pillow that was just placed on the mattress into contact with Shepard's head, which made him exaggerate how soft the blow was.

"Shower, John. I'll be in the CIC getting a jump on repositioning the conference room."

"Good, I'll be in the shuttle bay, making sure Steve's got our weapons and shuttles ready to go."

"And Joker?"

Shepard's face showed an annoyed look, realizing he missed something, or just didn't want to hear it out loud. "Shit, forgot about that. I'll speak with him afterwards, give Steve a heads up he might have to fly something bigger for awhile."

He kissed her one more time, lingering a bit to hear Miranda's light moan warn him to cut it out before he walked to the shower.

* * *

Stepping into the CIC with her new position in tow, Miranda immediately walked up to the dais, attempting to get a position of what the various crewmembers were doing. The day crew seemed to be on hand and doing their jobs, no one slacking off. Pulling up the various information on the Normandy, she saw that they were about 6 hours away from arriving at the Utopia System. _That should be more than enough time for everyone to get their gear ready._

"Specialist Traynor, is there anything regarding the crew that I should be aware of?"

"Um...no, Miss Lawson." Traynor replied, unprepared for the new XO to ask her a question without making eye contact, which was Shepard's M.O. for anyone on the ship.

"Please advise the Grissom Academy students to meet me in the conference room in five minutes."

Traynor activated the intercom, announcing on the crew deck the orders she was given. With EDI gone to provide instant relay of information, as well as the VI program not being in position yet, it would fall to Traynor to be the ship's announcer.

As Miranda stepped off the dais she nodded a thank you to the woman, who returned the nod, her eyes lingering a bit in looking at her new superior. Miranda noticed this and smirked as she walked to the conference room.

* * *

Shepard arrived in the shuttle bay, having made a brief stop to get some breakfast that Kasumi provided. Well, Oriana provided the breakfast this time, but under Kasumi's watchful eye, making sure that of all the meals she served that morning this wasn't the one to screw up. It was kind of hard to screw up scrambled eggs, and she succeeded in passing the test.

The bay was quite active this morning, as Jacob was talking to Cortez at the weapons bench while Vega, Grunt, and Javik were doing target practice further down the bay, Garrus was busy in a corner fixing his own Black Widow sniper rifle. Zaeed was in a corner doing what he loved to do, smoke a cigar.

Walking up to his weapons locker, Shepard was relieved to see that his Mattock, Matilda, was saved. When Garrus was injured he had tossed the weapon to Vega as he carried the turian onto the shuttle, and was glad that the Lieutenant was able to keep in on the ship as it departed Earth. He was also glad to see that replacement armor was also in his locker, his combination of Hahne Kedar and Defender armor in his usual spot.

"Good job on getting replacement armor, Steve," Shepard commended, the requisitions officer nodding at the praise as he and Jacob walked over to the locker.

"When you say it's for Commander Shepard these days, people just throw equipment at you."

"I was just complimenting Cortez here on keeping all the weapons in top shape, Shepard. Could use a Cain or Arc Projector though."

"Have you tried getting a hold of those, Lieutenant? The only time I saw one during the war was in London." Cortez said, implying that he got a hold of anything he could for the war beforehand.

"Steve, just a heads up, you might need to take over for Joker as pilot for a bit. I'm sure you could do a decent job piloting a frigate, give him some more downtime due to recent events."

Shepard didn't want to outright say what he was getting at, hoping Cortez knew what he was talking about, no doubt hearing about what happened from other crew members. He nodded quickly, his eyes showing that he knew Joker was falling into a deeper hole.

"Good, good." Shepard quickly attempted to change the subject to something more pleasant. "How's Matilda, Steve? She ready to go?"

"You know it, Captain; cleaned the barrel, upgraded the grip, switched out the scope, you're ready to go. Garrus tried to stick some kind of dextro gum in the round ejector, but I made sure his prank wouldn't reach you."

"Man, you must have really widened the lead on him Shepard, not counting the Reapers."

"Jacob, remind me to tell you guys what he did while he was on Zorya, I think it's some kind of turian inferiority complex."

Getting Jacob and Steve's attention as he said that, their eyes trying to tell him to dispense the information right now, he heard his turian friend shout across the bay, a glint of reflection peering out of the corner of his eye.

"Shepard! Up! Nine! Eleven! Seven!"

Everything after his name would seem like an odd combination of words had they not been around the two, but what it actually was Garrus tossing some bottles into the air at the clock positions of Shepard's current direction.

After hearing the turian shout "Up!", Shepard immediately knew what he was attempting to do, stepping back one step to make sure Steve and Jacob were out of the line of fire before he held his breath and lined up his shots, breaking the bottles with incredible ease.

That alone impressed everyone, even the three soldiers who had stopped shooting down range when they heard their Captain's name, but what really made them amazed at Shepard's skill was how after taking out the seven o'clock bottle he then turned back to the ten o'clock position to shoot the bottle that Garrus had "forgotten" to call out.

The glass shards rained down in the middle of the bay, everyone hooting and hollering at that last shot.

Javik smiled as called out, "Impressive Captain, even taking into account the turain's duplicity." The others nodded in agreement, Garrus holding up his hands as though he didn't know what they were talking about.

"What? _What_? Up means ten in turian! I thought Shepard knew that!"

"This is why you guys resort to the genophage, bwah" Grunt threw his hand at Garrus to wave his excuse away as he went back to shooting at the targets with a modified Crusader, his first experience with the human shotgun.

"Seriously, Scars, you should be barefaced or something," James said, knowing that it was seen as an insult to turians.

"Whoa now, Lieutenant, let's not say things we can't take back." Garrus said, showing that it was still a line you don't want to cross, even in jest.

_This is what I like to see_, Shepard thought, smiling as he watched his crew joke around, knowing they can joke and banter but will defend each other to the death, a thought that made Shepard realize how much easier raiding the station will be in a few hours.

The elevator doors opened, and Ashley walked out with Kasumi, the two looking not to target practice but work out, towels in hand. If Ashley received any bruises from the fight yesterday, they were hidden under her attire and bandages.

Expecting to get some ribbing for losing the fight, Ashley was greeted with a chant of "Blues" that was started off by Vega, showing that the group didn't think anything less of her. She raised her hands as if to tell them to quiet down, feeling more embarrassed than if they would have just piled on her to begin with.

"Good to see you, Ash. I'm sorry for how that went about, but-"

"Don't worry about it Skipper. It was something that had to happen, it was a long time coming. And I think it made us respect each other more than if you just gave the position to Garrus or Liara."

"You did hit her pretty hard, I can attest to seeing those bruises."

"Well, marines drink hard, punch hard, and fuck hard, right?" Ashley punched his arm to get her point across, Shepard taking the punch with no problem, laughing at the old adage.

By this time the target practice had ended, it the absence of rounds being fired was any indication, and everyone was putting their weapons back in their lockers.

"Next time you fight, Williams, just bring a gun. One shot, nothing to worry about."

"Shows what you know, Taylor, one shot did nothing but make me prettier," Zaeed tapped the butt of his cigar to the skin near his right eye, reminding everyone he took a shot to the head and survived.

"Did I tell you guys about my headplate! It was great!" Grunt jumped in to talk about scars, wanting everyone to realize how it made him impressive. With that Shepard excused himself, letting everyone else have the fun that comes with less responsibility.

_Let's see what Joker has to say..._


	11. Not So Simple

11: Not So Simple

"Joker, let's chat."

Shepard walked up to his pilot with cups of coffee in his hands, offering one to his pilot. Joker had initially looked at what he was being offered with a look of disgust, before his eyes made his way to the Captain, his eyes politely insisting he take it off of him.

Joker took the cup, offering a disingenuous smile, taking a sip and realizing Shepard had put in the right amount of sugar he had always preferred, three spoonfuls.

Not expecting the quiet response as he sat down in the co-pilot chair, expecting some joke about Miranda or Ashley or the fight he instigated, Shepard finally broke the silence, Joker knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"So. Garrus told me about what happened after you jumped to the rendezvous point."

"Of course he did."

"Jeff, I'm sorry, I really am. EDI was a good friend. Just like Mordin, Thane, and Legion were. But my job was to defeat the Reapers, and that was the only way to destroy them. I risked my own life to destroy them, the Lazarus project used a bit of reaper tech to help expediate bringing me back to life."

Letting that point sink in, that their job this entire time was to destroy the Reapers no matter what, Shepard continued, "I thought that EDI would have been able to stay around, that she would have been able to download herself somewhere or, or..." Shepard really didn't know how to explain it, he wasn't an engineer.

Looking ahead, his free hand not moving as he took another sip, Joker asked a question. "Was there really no other way?" It lacked the hostility he was expecting, instead just general weariness.

Shepard thought for a second, wondering if he should be honest about his choices presented to him. It was something he hadn't even told Miranda, something that he didn't want to tell anyone, for fear of being accused of selfishness or allowing any politicians the opportunity to score political points on the back of this war. It had already taken so much, he didn't want anymore being lost in a lack of decency.

Trying to fly between telling the truth and not letting too much information be divulged, he replied, "This was the only way to defeat the reapers. Anything else would have only been temporary or changed the galaxy in a way that would probably be for the worst."

Joker took another sip of coffee, and Shepard could tell he was thinking of something to say, wondering if he would try to rile him up the same way he did Garrus. Unlike Garrus, Shepard had dealt with verbal attacks on Miranda by others, along with his naturally thick skin to these situations. It would have to be something truly offensive to get under his skin.

"If you could destroy the Reapers, but Miranda died, would you go through with it?"

Shepard let out a large exhale, his eyes staring at the various readouts in front of him.

Instinctively he would have replied no, since it was Miranda and it was their future together that made him fight for so long, that held him together during the war.

However, letting that cold, hard math sink in, he couldn't say he wouldn't have gone through with Joker's hypothetical situation. It would probably more than likely lead him to be in the same situation that Joker found himself right now, perhaps even worse.

And that realization made Shepard understand what Jeff's aim was.

"I want to say I would go through with it, Jeff, because the galaxy doesn't deserve to live in fear of genocide. But I doubt I would want to stay around much longer after the fact, maybe accept my fate when I was caught in the rubble. With Miranda gone it probably would have sealed the deal on the operating table, too."

Shepard let that point linger, knowing what Joker was doing, even if it was a subconscious thing that he wasn't aware of yet.

"So I get where you're coming from, I really do. When you find something that makes the world worth living, you'll do anything to keep it. But as is often the case, you have to put the needs of others ahead of what you want. God knows that sometimes we deserve a chance to keep what we fight for without having to make that choice."

As he said those words he felt a bit relieved himself, confiding in his friend something that allowed him to step back from the pedestal everyone forced him on and just act human, just this once.

The silence that followed differed from the previous moment, a sense of calm covering the cockpit until the pilot finally responded.

"You know, that's all I wanted to hear, someone else say that this wasn't some kind of pity party or some odd way of dealing with death." Joker took another sip of coffee, finally turning his seat to face Shepard. His face looked like it wanted to cry, show some kind of emotion, but he would have to settle for his cracking voice as he spoke to his Captain.

"The others were just focused on getting back, they really didn't know if the war was still going on or what until the ship was repaired. And outside of Liara, I don't know if anyone else knew about Tiptree or your family."

Shepard stood up, placing a hand on Joker's shoulder as he continued. "If you need some time off, you have it. If you need anything, let me know. You've been with me since the beginning Jeff, and you've never called in any favors, this would be a good place to start. I'll see if I can even get in contact with Kelly Chambers when we return to the Citadel, she can be someone you can confide in."

"Thanks, Shepard. I'll be good for the mission. I might take you up on those favors when we get back, though." For the first time since he returned tot he ship, Joker actually seemed to have a genuine smile on his face.

"Good to hear. You need to talk, call me up here. You could even try talking with Cortez, he went through something similar during the war, and he's pulled through. You still need some target practice." Shepard smirked, remembering Joker's inebriated promise a few weeks back.

"We're family, Jeff. We help each other out."

"Understood, Shepard. We should be arriving at Zion in about four hours, I'll make sure we surprise them with some Alliance flair."

Shepard walked away, a weight lifted off his shoulder, not wanting to lose the galaxy's best pilot to some never ending depression.

He made his way to the conference room, noticing a few students running in and out of the sliding doors that led to the back of the floor. They didn't have a complete look of fear on their faces, which was good. As he got closer he noticed that Traynor had a smile on her face as well, no doubt finding the constant shuffle at the XO's requests amusing.

Looking at the progress upfront, he was greeted with students using their biotics to lift up the cables that cluttered the sides, other students removing panels so that the cables could be placed inside. No longer were there crates just thrown against the corner, but instead they had been moved to either engineering or the shuttle bay.

Miranda had just directed David to set up a terminal on the table, positioning it so that as someone entered the room she would be on the opposite side ready to greet them.

"You did all this in two or three hours? I'm pretty impressed, Miss Lawson."

Looking at Shepard with eyes of satisfaction, Miranda stepped away from David, placing a comforting arm on his shoulder as she left. After seeing firsthand what Project Overlord did to him, at the actions of his brother no less, it triggered a feeling in her that reflected her protection of Oriana.

Walking over to Shepard in the hallway, Miranda didn't attempt any type of embrace, making sure to keep their conversation as formal as possible. She did offer a simple smile, showing pride at how quickly the change was occurring.

"I think it's working well, I've told the students that Kasumi will cook whatever they want for lunch, it's a good carrot for them to chase."

"I spoke with Joker, I think that's taken care of for right now. He just needed to realize what he's going through wasn't out of the ordinary."

"I see. It's a shame that EDI is gone. I had my reservations with her being unshackled but she more than proved herself to the crew, and seeing how she became more human than others I've dealt with..."

"If we can get Kelly back when we return to the Citadel, or rather 'Felicia Hannigan,' she would help a lot with Joker, possibly some others who have yet to look at their own war scars."

Miranda nodded in agreement at the suggestion. "I understand."

"Good. I'll leave you to dealing with the brat pack here, you want me to send up Jack to help out too?"

Not biting at the tease he provided, Miranda simply stated "No thank you, but if you could get Liara up here to help with accessing some more...discreet pieces of information it would be welcomed." Her words trying to hide from the others Liara's true position in the galaxy.

"Ah, got it." Before he left he raised his voice to address everyone in the area "Keep at, students, you're doing a good job."

The students who heard the Captain's voice nodded at the appreciation of their work, realizing it was a genuine commendation and not just simple talk to make Shepard feel good about himself.

"In a few hours you'll be moving into your new home. What did you guys request for lunch?"

"Lobster! But, we had to settle for pizza." Rodriguez said, hoping her joke about lobster was seen for what it was, and not actually complaining about the food onboard a military vessel.

"If I see a lobster on a ship, it sure would be a first." Shepard smiled as he left the deck, heading down to talk to Liara before he finalized some plans for attacking the Cerberus station.

* * *

"Greetings, Commander Shepard!"

Glyph's ocular face stared at the Captain as it's spherical body swirled around as Shepard walked into Liara's office, seeing that nothing really changed. He wondered if the engineers at the Citadel even had access to the room.

"Shepard, I'm glad you stopped by." Liara was much less attuned to her screens than she was before the war, he face showing a more relaxed, softer face, as though the past three years of increasing pressure were slowly dripping away.

As she closed the distance between herself and the Captain, she handed him a datapad that showed various information on Eden Prime that she was able to pull from various sources.

"It looks like one cruiser, the _Busan_, is in orbit around the planet providing something resembling a patrol, so at least the colonies aren't completely on their own at the moment. They must've been rerouted here to accompany us. Being so close to the Terminus System, it wouldn't be surprising if we come across a few independent ships as we pass through."

"Anything we should worry about from Terminus? Aria had them on a pretty strong leash but I don't know exactly how much of her forces were destroyed in the war."

"Sadly, most of my Omega contacts haven't checked in, but the few that have communicated that much like the Citadel, Aria is working from the Omega system out. But that's making the assumption she had any real control outside of Omega to begin with."

"So expect some pirates, is what you're politely trying to steer me towards." Shepard gave his common smirk, the asari replying with a simple head nod.

"Alright, so we'll be passing by Eden Prime first, establish contact with the half a dozen alliance ships, then head to Zion. That way we can prioritize help if need be."

"It would be nice for something to go right, for once." Liara rubbed her head as she said those words, realizing it might come out harsher than she originally intended.

"True, but maybe this time the galaxy owes us one, right? Otherwise it would just be stacking the deck on one side."

"I think you already used up your favors stopping Saren. And the Collectors. And the Reapers. We're on our own now."

"You know, you and Joker should get together, with your downright rosy views on things at the moment."

"Ha. Ha. I still haven't forgiven him for all those times he bugged me about my hair."

After she finished that sentence, she spoke up once again "...he's going to be alright, I take it?"

"Yeah, give him some time, he'll pull through. He was just being human, is all."

"I can understand, I remember how you acted at Horizon."

That was something he didn't expect to hear from Liara. Garrus, sure, but not from his friend who valiantly tried to hide her true feelings from him for all these years. Shepard remembered how he was stuck between maintaining standard squad procedures and running to catch up to Miranda, especially after seeing that Kai Leng had also infiltrated Sanctuary. Head and heart had never fought so much before that day.

"I think that's what got to him, really. Not being able to do anything, that sense of being completely lost..."

"I'll make sure to visit him more often, it will let me put some of this free time to use."

"Thanks for the information, Liara, and if you would, head up to the conference room to help Miranda with accessing some of your servers here. I understand you want to keep some things hush hush, but some common back channel feeds..."

"Of course, Shepard. I trust you two completely. It makes no sense to cut off your information feed. Until I can steal another cruiser, that is."

The two walked out of the office, prompting Glyph to tell Shepard to have a pleasant day.

"You know, it hasn't updated to calling me Captain."

"I know, it's been acting a bit weird since it booted back up on Zorya. I'll look into it later."

As the two left Liara's office, and the subsequent lock on the door activated, they made their way back to the elevator. Entertaining them as they made their way up was the sounds of Kasumi and Oriana and...James? Clanging away in the kitchen.

"Hoods, we soldiers gotta have some more meat on these things. You can't send us into battle on an empty stomach."

"There's about ten pizzas here, Vega. If you can't get enough food here..."

"Hoods, we've got a dozen or so biotics onboard now, half of them are teenagers no less, a krogan who will eat three pizzas easily, a pregnant lady, and that's before I even factor in me and Shepard."

As James said that he saw that the Captain was walking away towards the elevator. To make his point he called out across the mess hall, "Loco! we need meat, right? Soldiers stick together!"

Having heard the whole conversation, Shepard turned around and nodded his head. "I agree with the Lieutenant, Kasumi. Either we need more meat or pull out a few more from the food crates."

Kasumi gave a mock salute, conceding the point with some humor.

Turning back, the two headed back up the elevator, Liara getting off at the CIC, Shepard returning to his cabin to plan for the coming assault. He walked back to his desk, Miranda's stuff already moved into her new office it looked like, even his pet hamster had returned to his original spot.

Sitting down and activating the screen, Shepard looked at the Cerberus Station in a more detailed manner. Miranda had said under normal operating procedures, before The Illusive Man resorted to indoctrinating his own troops, would more than likely hold 200 soldiers and scientists with a handful of automatic fighters and interceptors to protect the exterior.

Flipping through the various screens, Shepard made his notes, highlighting various paths to take. With such a large squad, he could afford to break off into three teams, with the Grissom Students being allowed to provide any cleanup with Jack while everyone else pushes forward.

From what anyone could gather, with the Reapers gone there would be no more threat of indoctrination, but it was unclear if those affected would return to normal or if it was permanent. It didn't really matter to Shepard, whatever was there will be destroyed, this was one type of technology that didn't need to be kept, and no one would change his mind otherwise. Paranoia crept up on him slightly, wondering if he might run into the STG or other special forces, this technology was just too good for any species to have altruistic intentions.

* * *

The remaining hours went by with relative ease; having laid out the attack plan, and lunch being prepared to the students specifications, everyone in his squad headed for their lockers to get ready for the assault.

_"Brace for deceleration, entering Utopia System now. ETA 5 minutes."_

Joker's announcement filled the ship, the squad waiting in the bay for orders. Shepard stood at the front to address everyone, seeing the squad having the same anticipation that he had been feeling.

"Miranda, if you would..."

The XO nodded and pulled up a map of the space station, various paths being shown in three distinct colors.

"As you can see, these are the paths we will be taking. Three main teams, the students will be providing backup with Jack. Team one will be myself, Grunt, James, Zaeed. We're the distraction team, we take the most fire and will thin out their numbers." The members of this group looked at each other, being close to one another in the group to begin with, nodding in confirmation that they were the heavies.

"Team two is Garrus'. Ashley, Javik, Jacob, you're cleaning out the barracks and any research facilities. Nothing remains, complete deletion and destruction." These members nodded, checking their weapons to make sure they had the correct modifications for the job.

"Team three is Miranda's. Tali, Kasumi, Liara. They use our distractions to secure the stations' controls, purge all data, cut off any attempted escape or venting of airlocks." The members who were on Cronos Station remembered that failed attempt to vent the hangar, smirking slightly.

"I will not repeat these orders: anyone who raises a gun to you, put them down. Those who willingly surrender, disarm and bring them back to our entry point. We're taking two shuttles, Steve carries teams one and three, Jacob will pilot the other shuttle. Crash and bash, people. If you see anything out of the ordinary, keep in contact. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads in the negative, Miranda closed up her projection. "Good, we should be in range now. Load up the shuttles, I'll speak to Joker."

As the teams dispersed, Miranda made her way to Shepard's side as he walked over to Traynor, who had been waiting with an open comm to Joker.

_"Captain, we're passing Eden Prime right now, contact was made with the Busan, all is clear on the planet and surrounding areas for the time being. Only a few commercial ships in orbit to transport foodstuffs and equipment."_

"Alright, sounds good, make sure you have their channel up in case anything happens. And have some fun providing a distraction again, you seemed to enjoy that the last time."

Surprising the three was the sound of a slight chuckle from Joker, something _"Roger, good luck on the station."_

Traynor closed the communication and saluted as she headed up to the CIC as Shepard gave Miranda that look of complete confidence that was always on his face before heading off to missions. It felt good to see again, that sense of just another day at the office.

Getting into Cortez's shuttle, Shepard stood in the center, using his hand to balance Miranda as she sat down next to Kasumi. The thief wanted to say something but held back, realizing that it was time to get serious, everyone else showing looks of focus.

"Stand by everyone, Jacob's dropping out first and we'll follow up."

* * *

The Normandy sped towards the station as it reached Zion, setting it's course for Asphodel. Heat sinks being engaged, it didn't really matter to the ship's capabilities for the few minutes they were online, as Joker was able to make the run from planet to planet in under five minutes.

As the station became visible on the Normandy's radar, Joker shuffled the controls in front of him as he piloted the ship directly for the station's docks. To anyone watching the ship from a distance it looked like any normal dock, only at suicidal speeds. As Joker closed in he could hear the cyber warfare suites chiming away, blocking the first attempts of the station to stop the unknown enemy speeding their way. What would have been seen as nothing but the superior ship doing its job any other time during its life, it made Joker remember briefly about EDI, and how her contributions helped make the Normandy protected from virtually anything that could be encrypted their way during battle. _Now's not the time, Jeff. Head on straight_.

Clicking the weapons systems online, Joker tapped the javelin torpedoes to activate, firing two of them to detonate right outside the dock, clearing a way for the shuttle's inside. The torpedoes launched, nearly being outpaced by the speed at which Joker was pushing the frigate, until he pulled up sharply, the two Kodiak shuttles falling free of the shuttle bay as the torpedoes struck with precision, detonating just outside the stations dock, a mass effect field automatically being generated as a self defense mechanism to preserve the pressure inside.

As the Normandy sped off to distract the automated interceptors and draw their fire, the twin Kodiaks headed straight for the opening provided. As the shuttles entered the station's mass effect field, the doors immediately opened, with Shepard taking aim on one side while Zaeed looked out the other. Shepard looked around, scanning for any soldiers or automated defenses as the shuttle descended to drop off the passengers. No hostile fire was present on his side, but the sound of three rounds being fired by Zaeed let him know there were hostiles in the area.

As the shuttles landed Shepard jumped, aiming his Mattock around the bay, looking for any soldiers who looking for cover. As he looked around he saw half a dozen soldiers on the ground, either unconscious or killed during the torpedo blast.

"Clear! Move!" Shepard yelled, Miranda and the others hopping out Shepard's side of the shuttle, aiming for anything that looked hostile down the bay.

"Hostiles clear, split up! Jack, wait until the bay is completely secured before you let the students off."

_"No problem, chief. Garrus' team is on the ground."_

Moving forward, the three teams met in front of the shuttles, getting into their teams. The three leaders nodded their heads and slowly made their way to their designations; Miranda and her squad headed up the walkway to the right, looking to take the second floor opening to inner areas where any servers or date might be available.

As Shepard pressed forward toward the elevator straight ahead, he was tapped on his shoulder by Garrus, signaling to look back. As Shepard turned around he saw two Cerberus shuttles break free from the secondary dock, moving as fast as they would allow. _Shit_, Shepard thought to himself, Joker probably hasn't had enough time to get back to take them out. Oddly enough, the two shuttles weren't pushing into FTL speeds yet, but were going in a near beeline towards Eden Prime, as though the shuttles were on auto pilot.

"Well there goes complete neutralization. Stick to the plan, Garrus." The turian nodded in confirmation, the two turning back towards the door as Guardians and Loki mechs arrived in the bay.

"Grunt, go to town!" Shepard yelled, the krogan unleashing a loud laugh as he charged forward, knocking over mechs as though they were bowling pins, the Cerberus resistance not knowing which way to aim and position themselves.

With their enemies confused, the two teams unloaded their weapons, all of them having the precision to not shoot Grunt as he smashed away at a few of the Guardian shields, leaving them unable to defend themselves. Any rounds he took were absorbed by his shields or armor, although his love for getting shot wouldn't slow him down in the slightest.

After a minute, there was nothing left of the welcoming party, destroyed mechs and dead soldiers strewn across the ground. Shepard made the signal to move forward, everyone complying. As they moved forward into the hallway the two groups split up, Garrus heading left, Shepard heading right.

Sticking to the main hallway Shepard's squad was routinely flanked by mechs and engineer turrets every hundred feet. His gamble was paying off, however. Nearly every military tactic in the past fifteen years was based on accounting for biotics or those capable of EMPs or incineration tactics, but that is thrown out the window when you have three human soldiers and one large, angry krogan who have a penchant for rifles. With James and Grunt providing shotgun support and Zaeed and Shepard allowing for down range accuracy with their rifles, very little was able to stand a chance. Their distraction was paying dividends as Miranda checked in.

_"Miranda here, infiltration is going as planned. Kasumi and Tali were able to hack in, docks and escape shuttles are shut down. Some of Kasumi's scrubbing viruses have already been released, Liara is running through video feed to see who was on those shuttles."_

"Nice work, keep me informed if she finds anything." Shepard replied over the sound of his rifle, shooting a mech's head off at the neck, the body blindly firing until it was brought down with Grunt's Eviscerator.

"Is this all there is, Shepard, just plowing through these mindless fucks?" Zaeed asked, not taking his eyes off his targets.

"Don't sound too disappointed, Massani."

"A job's a job, but hell, I could take care of this with my good eye closed."

James wanted to confirm Zaeed's suspicion as he reloaded his shotgun. "It does seem weird, Captain. Compared to the other troops we've faced over the past months, don't they seem like they've lost any sense of self preservation?"

"I see what you're saying, Lieutenant. If the others report some increased activity, that would answer your question." Shepard couldn't help but agree in his mind that it did seem like everyone involved so far was going on instinct.

As the soldiers moved down the hallway, they arrived at a large opening which was indicated on the map as an open hall, where the various levels of the station would intersect via elevators and stairways, multiple pillars that were part of the station's structure dotting the hall. If anything was to happen, this would be the place.

Stepping forward, the squad backed themselves to one another so that the four always rotated, keeping a watchful eye for any sudden movements, James freeing one hand to dispense a grenade at a moments notice.

Shepard's ear buzzed as he heard the sounds of Garrus reporting in. _"Shepard, things are going well. Any lab research has been taken care of, we've been running into nothing but soldiers though. Not even an Atlas."_

As Garrus said those words, two of the large piloted mechs arrived in the hallway, showing no real concern for any sense of strategy.

"...of course you don't run into an Atlas." Shepard said coyly as he dodge a missile behind a staircase, pointing at James and Grunt to drop some grenades to stun it as the squad moved to a better position.

_"I take it that sarcasm and explosion means you get the honor?"_

"Two of them, Garrus, all thanks to you. Find your own shuttle back." The sounds of his Mattock echoed in the hallway as he aimed at the closest Atlas' left leg, looking to disable its mobility.

_"We can change our route to you right now-"_

"No need, we'll see if they draw some more fire our way, we've got enough room to drag this out safely."

_"All right then, you know where to find us."_

"Good on you, Battlemaster! We don't need any help!" Grunt laughed as he fired up his shields, allowing him to strafe back to the other side as he fired his shotgun at the other Atlas.

"There's still nothing to these guys! They just walk forward and fire without trying anything new!" James replied, looking to keep his aim on the left leg Shepard was weakening with his precision shots.

At that moment the second floor walkway on the far side of the hall showed a variety of soldiers making their way to set up elevated lines of fire, a few of them indoctrinated snipers.

"Shit! Three Nemesis up top, Captain!" Vega said as he immediately ducked his head, a sniper's bullet lodging itself in the nearby floor tile, missing its target by inches.

Shepard switched out his rifle for his Valiant, knowing the others would leave the snipers to him to take care of. Running out of cover while James and Zaeed provided covering fire, Shepard slid behind a nearby tower that spanned the height of the station, hearing the pak sounds of bullets hitting the floor as he slid to safety.

Grunt shouted to his Battlemaster as a loud explosion was heard in the distance. "More Guardians exiting the elevator!"

The situation was becoming a bit more than Shepard believed the four could handle. The simple straight line approach the Cerberus troops were using was something to poke fun at earlier, but coupled with Guardians and Atlas' it became a slowly moving horizontal line towards the soldiers like a broom sweeping in their direction, the enemies up top keeping the group from consistently trying to stop the ground level forces.

Putting his doubt aside, Shepard quickly aimed his Valiant up to the walkway, looking to take out anyone in his first shots. When a soldier got ready to drop a smoke grenade down below, Shepard aimed and fired without hesitation, hitting the soldier in the arm, making the soldier drop the grenade on the walkway. Before the smoke covered the enemies up top he quickly fired one more shot, pushing the soldier back as he fell over the walkway. The lack of any type of scream made the scene even more disturbing than it would have been.

Hiding in cover and reloading quickly, Shepard again took aim, his adrenaline kicking in and allowing time to slow down, giving him the opportunity follow shadows in the smoke. As he saw a red sight line make its way to his body he double tapped the trigger. The red laser disappeared, buying the group a few seconds of a sniper's fire. With any luck Shepard hit the sniper and took her out of the battle completely.

"Low on ammo clips!" James shouted as he switched from his shotgun to a Revenant, accepting his new role as simply spraying cover fire for the others.

"Atlas' still coming! Shit!" That last swear indicated to Shepard that Zaeed must have been hit.

"Squad, any grenades you have, roll them under the mechs feet! Give me twenty seconds and then run to the staircase on the other side where the Atlas' came from!"

With the countdown beginning, Shepard knew he had to take out the walkway snipers and soldiers. He rotated out of position and started slowly walking, lining up his shots as he made himself visible to any soldier in the area.

The repeated explosions of grenades brought with it some hope that it took out the Atlas' mobility, but played havoc on keeping a steady aim. Seeing a soldier pop up from the railing, he took a shot, hitting the enemy right in the head. Still down scope, he turned to his left, looking to aim at a sniper.

It was one of those instances where both Shepard and the sniper had the other in their sights, and it was a matter of playing chicken. Shepard double tapped the trigger, taking down the Nemesis but feeling a pain in his abdomen as his shields flickered off. _Dammit_.

Ducking back into cover, Shepard again reloaded with a speed so fast it was nearly robotic in its efficiency. As he took aim for the final sniper an Australian accent filled his ears.

_"Miranda here, we've arrived at the main server room. No enemies surrendered so far. Very odd for lower level researchers not to do so, I've -" _

*Blam* *Blam*

The sounds of Shepard's rifle caused Miranda to stop talking mid sentence, realizing that she checked in at a bad time. _"I can hear you're having some trouble at the moment."_

"No no, it's just some snipers and Atlas', continue."

_"Ass. Do you need assistance?"_

"If you don't hear from me in five minutes, head our way."

_"John..."_

"It's fine, Miri, we've been through worse."

_"Understood."_

As he ceased communication it was time for his squad to run across the hall, which they did exactly as ordered. The walkway only had two remaining soldiers, but the snipers were taken care of, allowing for Shepard's squad to make it across the open area having minimal damage to their shields, the Atlas' slowly trying to turn around and re-aim.

Buying the squad a few more seconds, Shepard switched back to his rifle, firing off a concussive round to stun an Atlas from locking on to Grunt. As he did so he took a round from a remaining Guardian that was fifteen feet in front of him, sending him slight pain in his left arm. Returning the favor, Shepard aimed his rifle right between the mail slot of the shield, with two shots the soldier fell to the ground.

"One Atlas down!" James yelled across the hall as Shepard saw from the corner of his eye an orange ball erupt, sparks following suit. That left two remaining soldiers on the walkway, and one increasingly frustrating Atlas to take care of.

As his shields recharged Shepard took aim at the soldiers above, his Mattock's scope doing the best it could but not providing the accuracy of a sniper rifle. Wasting a clip, the two soldiers fell on the walkway.

Immediately running to the Atlas, Shepard holstered his rifle and picked up two Talons from the fallen Guardians on the floor in front of him. He had never tried this before, but while the squad drew the Atlas' fire Shepard ran up right behind the mech, firing at the exhaust port with both pistols, accuracy being tossed aside at such a close range, slight pain coming from his left hand as he felt the powerful recoil of the pistol.

Wasting the entire clips, the mech started to slow down, showing signs that it was about to detonate. With that Shepard ran to his squad, sliding to cover as the explosion erupted.

"Hahahahaha! That's what I wanted to fight!" Grunt laughed, any injuries he sustained were insignificant to him at the moment.

"Good job, team, pick up some clips and we'll push ahead."

Tapping into his comm channel, Shepard called up Miranda to let her know the danger had passed. "Miranda, all clear. Can-"

_"I'm sorry John, this is an emergency, I'm sending some videofeed of what Liara recovered, we might have an emergency on our hands."_

Shepard's omnitool opened up and began showing two screens, one showing the portrait of an middle aged whtie man, his hair short and gray, dark brown eyes piercing the photo.

On the other screen there was video footage of this same man pushing about five researchers into a shuttle, the scientists willingly complying with what was being done to them as though they had no control over themselves.

Before he shoved the last person into the shuttle, the man showed a syringe on screen, injecting the last man with a blue substance, right into their neck, before shoving them into the shuttle, the door closing and automatically departing the station. As that shuttle prepared to leave, he jumped in the nearby shuttle and both departed the dock.

_"That man you just saw was Jurgen Santelli. During my time at Cerberus he was in charge of physical augmentation, but he was just a mid level researcher. It seems he moved up the ranks in the past year."_

Miranda continued, Shepard watching the video play in a loop over and over. _"What you just saw was Santelli departing the station, using some indoctrinated researchers as bait."_

"What did he inject that last researcher with?"

Liara chimed in over the comm. _"Shepard, you said that on Omega you and Aria fought some creatures Cerberus was attempting to create as biotic shock troops. Beings based on old specie DNA?"_

"Right. Aria called them Adjutants."

_"That seems to be what Santelli was working on here, indoctrination was just to keep the entire station in line while he continued his research."_

"Damn it, is there anyway to know where those shuttles were heading?"

_"Santelli's has already hit the relay, but the other shuttle was programmed to head right for Eden Prime."_

Shepard's heart dropped, realizing what the Cerberus scientist had done to avoid anyone trailing him. Trying to control his anger, he replied with a steel voice, "Those adjutants multiply simply by touching others, they could devastate the colony in hours."

_"Joker is attempting to catch up to the shuttle and warn the Busan of incoming spacecraft."_

Closing the screen and tapping away on his omnitool, he shouted into the channel.

"Team 3! Back to the shuttle, **ASAP**! Team two, you are to remain at this station with the students, clear out any remaining threats but do **not** separate! Set all labs to sterilization, do **not** enter the labs!"

Garrus replied calmly, understanding the situation, he must have been patched in to Miranda when she told Shepard of what they found. _"Team two, rendezvousing with students."_

"Team one, head back to the shuttle, double time! We've got a priority!"

James and Zaeed made a break for the shuttle, Grunt showing a confused look but complying, doing his best to keep up with the others.

As Shepard ran as fast as he could, he remembered how Eden Prime was where it all began for him. And hopefully, should they get there in time, it wouldn't be where it all ended.

**Apologies if the fighting seemed awkward, it was the first time I was describing a fight with something that really didn't have any visual reference in the games.**


	12. Solid Ground

12: Solid Ground

Cortez was pushing the shuttle as fast as he could towards Eden Prime, Shepard's anger emanating from his body as he stood in the center of the shuttle. Communication with Joker had revealed the _Busan_ was not in position to intercept the shuttle as it made its preprogrammed landing to a small colony just outside of the planet's capital of Constant,

Joker's comm chatter was heard throughout the shuttle. _"The Busan is currently broadcasting emergency signals to the colony advising people to remain indoors and to not make contact with anything that leaves the shuttle. Military has been scrambled to quarantine the area."_

"Captain, we'll be entering the atmosphere in one minute, heading for the coordinates Constant has provided."

"When we hit the ground, you see anything that looks blue, shoot it. Even if still looks like a person, the effect is immediate on these things. Get any civilians in the area on the shuttle and let Cortez get them to safety. Liara, Miranda, barriers up immediately upon landfall."

"Understood, Shepard." Liara said as Miranda reached for his hand, providing a slight squeeze in order to bring him down from his anger-induced high. He tried to lighten his face up as he made eye contact with her, but he couldn't pull it off at the moment. No one else had any experience with these beings, and he knew that might lead some like Zaeed and Grunt to not take his warnings at face value, so in a way he was letting the anger back up his seriousness about the mission.

As the shuttle shook upon entering Eden Prime's atmosphere, Shepard couldn't keep his thoughts to himself, "I should have just destroyed the damn station, stop this whole situation from happening."

"John, look at me. Remember what I told you, do not do this to yourself." Miranda had stood up, her hand on his chest to not only brace herself from the rustling of the shuttle but to also attempt to reach the man on that emotional level, to bring him back from that cliff of burden he so often looked down from.

_"Landing in twenty seconds, Captain."_

The squads stood up, their faces ready to do what needed to be done as Shepard asked.

As the shuttle doors opened Shepard and James jumped out first, attempting to secure the landing zone. What they saw was chaos. The Cerberus shuttle had landed cleanly, but it seems that by the time it landed all aboard had turned into Adjutants, and from what could be seen by their footprints they immediately spread across the small farming community's housing constructs.

The others jumped out immediately, weapons drawn as the biotics made their barriers cover the crew. Some of the prefab housing units to the right showed damage, one of them on fire. Across the field were pieces of automated defense mechs, their resistance being minimal to the Adjutants that had arrived. Shepard signaled for the group to move forward towards the fire, looking to put a stop to any monsters that might have made their way into the housing areas.

As they moved forward they saw a mother and her daughter running in fear, the sounds of clanging metal being heard as they ran past.

"Run to that blue shuttle! Get inside!" Shepard barked, not putting on a brave face with this command. The mother didn't look at him, running to the shuttle as she pulled her daughter with her, the wailing sounds from the child seemed to mimic those of a banshee.

The metal clanging stopped as a piece of tractor equipment flew into the makeshift street of the colony, showing an adjutant stumble towards the group. It's illuminated head shimmered as it locked eyes on Shepard, the luminescent sack on its back growing as it made a growl, aiming its hand to fire a biotic blast.

"Barriers up front! Unload on the bright areas!" Shepard ordered, everyone complying as they shot at the being, stopping it from firing its weapon as it remained stunned by the power the weapons brought upon it. Giving out one last cry it fell to the ground dead, allowing the crew to see that it was wearing the tattered remains of one of the Cerberus scientists.

"That's one down, five more to go, if we're lucky." Tali said, sending her drone out to scout any buildings that might have people hiding inside.

A few more colonists ran out into the street, Shepard directing them to the shuttle. As they turned at a corner, they saw another adjutant that had just attacked an elderly man, his screams cutting to the bone as he slowly began to transform.

While the others watched in horror, Shepard moved forward and shot the man repeatedly, hoping to not only stop the adjutant from forming but to put the man down in a more peaceful manner than undergoing the transformation.

The squad opened fire on the adjutant, putting it down but not before it fired a blast that ripped through the barrier, creating in its own way a version of a singularity that caught everyone off guard.

"Keelah! Some help!" Tali shouted, concerned as she was lifted off the ground, pulled toward the center of the blast. Luckily Grunt grabbed her by one of her legs and pulled her back, breaking the weightlessness as she landed back on the ground, overcharging her shields to protect herself.

Miranda had been caught off guard as well, all her effort going towards the barrier that she didn't have time to prepare herself. Shepard immediately threw his hand around her waist to keep her grounded but they were all surprised when another biotic blast came from a housing construct they had passed. This biotic blast detonated the singularity, sending everyone spread out from the blast.

Stunned but still maintaining his reaction speed, Shepard made sure that he fell to the ground, placing himself between the dirt path and Miranda. Shock was written all over her face as she realized how powerful these beings were when fighting together.

The comm channel opened up as Shepard helped Miranda up to her feet, placing her behind him as he and the recovering member of the crew opened fire on the new adjutant, another victim claimed by the invading plague. _"Captain Shepard, this is Captain Davis, we are currently flying above you position attempting to provide air support."_

"Captain Davis, maintain your current altitude, do not fly any lower. Enemy can replicate on contact and is extremely dangerous. Please advise headcount of hostiles you currently see."

_"Current readings show ten, no twelve, alien-like beings rampaging through the area."_

"Dammit! Advise all colonists to get out into the fields to avoid hostiles and prepare for shuttle evacuations."

_"Understood, Captain, shuttles are en route, ETA 5 minutes."_

"Faster, Davis! The situation is going to get out of hand!" Shepard closed the comm as the rest of his crew waited for orders, hearing ominous sounds from nearby units which the group realized was the sounds of more adjutants.

"Fall back!" The squad did as ordered, Grunt and Zaeed taking point as Shepard now watched the back of the group, Miranda being seen from the corner of his eyes to provide support.

As they headed back, more adjutants busted from the units, their groans attracting more of them to the area as they hopped on top of the prefab units, launching biotic blasts and singularities with reckless abandon.

"Shepard, we're being overwhelmed!" Liara shouted as she tried to rotate between throwing out warps and providing cover fire, Shepard throwing out some grenades to attempt to provide a momentary respite from the biotic bombardment.

The bombardments were coming in increased intervals, ripping through the shields and barriers of the squad. Shepard could hear Tali's cries as she was slammed against a housing unit wall with such force that it would be surprising if she didn't suffer any injuries. Vega lifted her unconscious self over his shoulder as he continued to fire his Revenant in the other hand, moving to cover behind some farm equipment.

Miranda unleashed some incineration tech on an Adjutant as it finished firing, prompting Shepard to throw a grenade to set off an explosion, the force being so powerful that it upended some housing units, effectively cutting off the street behind Adjutants.

As the explosion occurred a piece of lightweight metal came flying towards Miranda, nearly taking her head off. Her biotics all but spent at the moment, she had nothing to protect her but her hands, until an arm in black armor flew into her view, the metal lodging in the arm followed by a hissing growl from Shepard.

"John!" Miranda screamed, concerned that the metal cut through the armor and possibly made contact with an artery. She immediately applied medigel with one hand while she fired her submachine gun from behind Shepard's shoulder, the Spectre pulling out the aluminum scrap with his free hand, letting loose another growl of anger as the medigel attempted to clot any blood loss.

Liara came to assist the two as she focused her barrier to shield the three of them, her eyes stunned by the datapad size piece of metal that was flung deep into Shepard's arm.

"Incoming friendlies!" Vega shouted as three Alliance shuttles started to provide air support, shooting the four Adjutants that made their way into the street. Their firepower tore through the enemies sacks as Shepard and his crew continued to fire away, helping bring the enemies to the ground.

_"Captain, it seems the hostiles have not spread out from the housing units in your area, civilians are escaping into the fields for evac. We count eight hostiles currently in the area, two are directly south of your position."_

"Understood, Davis. We'll fall back to handle the two behind us, keep the enemy contained to one area with shuttle fire."

Miranda was still focusing her attention on Shepard as everyone made their way back to where they were initially dropped off, the squad clearly feeling out of their depth at the moment, unsure of how to deal with this threat while trying to save any civilians around them. In some sick sense of reminiscing, at least husks were easier to destroy.

"Bloody hell, this is embarrassing." Zaeed said, trying to crack wise but really hiding his shock at just how worked over the squad was. The only three that remained in any truly combat worthy shape were Grunt, Zaeed, and Kasumi, the thief being completely unable to provide any real support since she needed physical contact to strike up close.

Shepard didn't have anything to really say in response, there was certainly more battles they had faced that contained more overwhelming odds, but the sense of having to have no contact with the enemy was incredibly disturbing to someone who was trained to shoot, and then stab, and then punch an enemy to death.

Returning to the field where the Cerberus shuttle landed to start this chaos, Grunt growled as he fired his shotgun at the adjutant making its way to them. Just one seemed so simple to deal with now, as the squad opened fire, Shepard switching to his Paladin as his arm was in no position to hold a rifle.

The Adjutant fired off a biotic blast that was disrupted by the gunfire, its aim blowing a hole in a housing unit to the left of the squad. As it fell to the ground the sounds of two frightened children could be heard from where the blast hit, the housing unit's side ripped open, the two boys having hidden under what looked to be the prefab's kitchen table.

"No, no, _no_" Shepard said over and over as the other remaining Adjutant made its appearance, slowly hopping over another unit and looking at the two frightened children, their screams and pleas growing louder as they held on to each other in fear.

Shepard did his best to draw its attention by opening fire on the monster, even walking towards the being to draw its attention, but it was getting ready to pounce.

"Miranda, Liara, pull them away as hard as you can!" Shepard yelled. It was something that would strain the two biotics in their current state, but they saw the severity of the situation, no one wanting to have to put down children if they became infected. They both used all they had left into triggering their biotic waves.

The biotics travelled the fifty meters to the kids, grabbing not only them but the table as well, yanking them all with such severity that they approached the squad in a faster time than anyone anticipated.

While the squad continued to fire at the Adjutant, finally killing it, Shepard saw that the kids were arriving ahead of the table, which would severely injure them if it came into contact with them as they fell to the ground.

Shepard dashed to his left just as the kids landed on the ground, their cries indicating they might have suffered some broken bones. Before the table could land on them he had placed himself between them, sheltering them while his back received the force of the table. It shattered upon him as he fell to the ground, the wind being knocked out of him.

The squad was in disarray; Shepard and the rescued children were on the grassy field, either unconscious or crying in pain, Miranda and Liara were clearly out of it, their biotics being used so much in the past twenty minutes that they never had a chance to recover, that last pull straining them. They had fallen to their knees, trying to support themselves with their hands to not completely pass out from what they had just done, being oblivious to the other chaos around them.

With Tali still on his shoulder James had attempted to rest her on the ground in between the other standing members, still aiming around looking for anymore adjutants that might have appeared. As fires raged in the housing units around them, the scene of shuttles flying off in the distance seemed to give the impression that all the civilians that could escape did.

"Esteban, pick us up at the drop off! Too many injured for us to carry them out!"

_"Reading you Lieutenant, military is reporting all hostiles have been eliminated, area is being cordoned off until ground forces can safely enter."_

"About damn time." James looked around at all the damage, although it was small in size it reminded him too much like Vancouver, the sudden fear and terror on the people's faces as they tried to escape something that brought with it instant death. He hadn't been with Shepard on Omega when he fought the Adjutants before, but he didn't realize just how quickly they can flip a battle. _And the mierda that did all this is still out there..._

Cortez's shuttle descended back onto the grass, scorching the blades as it landed. Zaeed had taken to Tali, carrying her in his arms as he stepped into the shuttle, Kasumi carrying what appeared to be the youngest child in her arms while his older brother walked next to her, scared and clutching his right arm but able to move.

Grunt had walked over to lift up his Battlemaster, unsure of just how injured he was until he saw that Shepard wasn't moving. The krogan lightly kicked him with his foot, unsure what to do in the situation, a little shocked that his leader was the one on the ground. If it was any other squishy species, he would understand, but not the man he had always seen as invincible.

"Grunt, lift Shepard up, carry him to the shuttle." Miranda had finally recovered enough to stand to her feet and give an order, rasped voice and all, Liara also rising. Grunt carefully lifted Shepard up by the collar of his armor, carrying him as gently as he could over his shoulder to please his Battlemaster's mate, leaving the pistol on the ground.

The remaining crew hopped in the shuttle, Cortez lifting off but keeping the doors open just a while longer so that they could all see what had happened to the small outskirt colony. In an area that looked like it contained a small four way crossing of about two hundred housing units, it looked as though half of them were destroyed or on fire, the smoke still billowing out of those in the center of the area.

The fields where wheat was being grown showed signs of damage, where multiple people had run into the field to reach evac shuttles, the takeoff jets burning the surrounding crops.

It was a humbling experience, the easy victory at the Cerberus station having long since passed. The shuttle doors closed as Miranda ran her hand over Shepard's face, his head resting in her lap as the rest of him laid on the bench, the others giving the Captain and Tali their seats. Administering another set of medigel to his arm, which had lost pieces of his armor when the sheet metal lodged itself during the battle, she could already see that his labored breathing and cold sweat indicated either a punctured or collapsed lung.

Liara and Kasumi tended to Tali and the children, nothing really being able to help them until they would arrive at a nearby hospital to care for the wounded. Kasumi was doing her best to calm the kids, trying to take their mind off the pain they were feeling. Even Zaeed was trying to be nicer than his normal self, offering one of the boys a cigar, as though he was rewarding their toughness with an acknowledgement of an adult vice, letting them know they were men now.

Funnily enough, the kid took the cigar, not really knowing what to do with it, but he smiled at the mercenary in return, Zaeed even offering a light smile of his own.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a medical bed, Miranda's face coming into view, much like when he first saw her upon returning to life nearly two years ago. After smiling at seeing her face, he immediately tried to get up, not sure what had happened while he was unconscious, or if he was still in the middle of a battle.

"John, John, relax, we're safe now." Miranda's hand pressed his chest back down, he complied.

"Are you ok?" He asked for no real discernible reason, knowing he made sure she suffered no injuries.

Smiling at his concern, she kissed his dry lips, leaving some moisture as she pulled back. "I'm fine, thanks to your chivalrous actions. Those children you protected from the table are going to be fine. One broke both legs, the other broke an arm, but they're alive and safe now." Miranda's eyes shimmered as she spoke about them, her usual defenses dropping.

"And Tali?"

"A slight fever due to a suit tear, but nothing she hasn't had before, she's already up and about thanks to those medications she always keeps on hand."

Trying to be more cordial this time in rising from the sterile bed, Shepard turned to let his legs fall to the floor, a sharp pain causing him to catch his breath and not attempt to put pressure on his feet.

Seeing the pain in his face, Miranda immediately tried to help him up. "You cracked three ribs, even with the implants you're going to need to take it easy for twenty four hours."

"Prefab units should make their walls out of whatever material that table was..." Shepard sighed as he pressed his hand against his bandaged chest, trying to apply more pressure to allow for greater movement.

"While you were out for the past hour I contacted Garrus and Joker, told them the situation. The Normandy's in orbit, and the Cerberus station is all clear. I can have Tali, Kasumi and Liara head back to see if they can find anymore information on what Santelli was working on-"

"Do it. This can't spread to any other planet. Look at what it did to us, we looked like amateurs out there."

"I know you don't want to admit it, but it's because we were trying to fight and protect at the same time. Against these...these things we just don't have that option."

Miranda was right, even if he didn't want to concede the point. When he fought those beasts on Omega there was no one to save, having taken over the mining levels of the station.

"Tell Garrus for his squad to head back, let Jack and the students stay. Have Joker contact Alliance command to coordinate the reclamation process for the station. It was supposed to be moved to orbit the planet, but after today I don't know if that is still on schedule."

"Anything else you'd like to throw upon your XO?" Miranda realized where Shepard was going to go with that question and immediately followed up with her own response "No," cutting the legs out from Shepard's quip.

The door to the hospital room opened up, a captain in military garb stepping through with a soldier still in Alliance regulation armor. The middle-aged captain had olive skin, his black beard showcasing his strict professionalism in how well groomed it was. "Captain Shepard, glad to have you awake."

Shepard shook the Captain's hand and stood to his feet. "Captain Davis, good to see you, sir."

"I understand that these things were called 'Adjutants,' was it? It doesn't matter, they were all eliminated and most of the civilians escaped. We have thirty four confirmed casualties from the colony that were transformed into those things, out of a hundred and ninety eight colonists."

"Damn it, they didn't deserve this." Shepard's anger returning as he looked away with disdain in his eyes, just more bodies to add to the guilt that weighed on him since the war.

"Look, Shepard, from one Captain to another, that was impressive work you did. Taking out nearly a dozen of those things on foot while helping out civilians, you can't think any less of what you did."

Though no one noticed her, Miranda had nodded to herself, glad that someone else was able to put things in a better perspective for Shepard as opposed to automatically reaching for the worst part of news.

"Thanks for all your help, Captain, and I apologize if I was a bit...curt with how I spoke to you an hour ago."

"No worries, Shepard. I can tell my kids I got to meet _**and**_ got yelled at by Captain Shepard." The older man patted the Spectre on back, showing there was no harm done during the evacuation.

As the two saluted each other, Shepard's deep cut on the inside of his right bicep showed itself, the two Eden Prime soldiers eyes' turned and looked shocked at such a gash.

"Good God, man, what happened to your arm?"

"Took a big piece of flaming shrapnel, it'll be fine."

"You know, I never believed the rumors of you dying, it seems nothing can stop you." As the Captain and soldier left the room, Shepard and Miranda shared a smile, the truth seemingly becoming something unable to be told.

"Let's head back to the Normandy, Chakwas will fix this up good as new."

As the two exited the room, they were greeted with a wall of glass, the hospital hallway being treated to a sunset, the sun dipping just below the fields in the distance, a beautiful contrast of red sun and yellow grains making Miranda take a moment to look at the beauty.

"Oh, my." Miranda said, unable to think of anything else to say. Shepard dropped his armor and came up behind her, wrapping his hands around her waist, placing his head on her shoulder. "This is just...beautiful."

"Told you. For as much as this planet has had to deal with, this is one of those things that really tries to balance it out." Miranda didn't turn around but simply raised her right hand behind her, her hand making contact with Shepard's hair as she lightly let her hand wander his scalp.

The two lost themselves as they stared into the sunset, the terror and shock of the day's events disappeared as hospital staff walked by them, paying them no mind as they waited until the sun had completely set before heading back to their shuttle.

**Adjutants should be that type of enemy that is just a time bomb waiting to go off, and you never really got that in the game. Maybe they showed it in the comics. Moving forward, I'm going to split up the squad a bit more, but everyone will still get their time.**


	13. Looking For Leads

13: Looking For Leads

Chakwas was looking at the gash on Shepard's arm with delicacy, her eyes being covered by magnifying glasses as she plucked out small pieces of metal from inside the arm, causing Shepard to hiss momentarily as the clotted wound was reopened thanks to his doctor's careful, albeit painful prodding. As he held his arm horizontal bending his hand to rest on his head, he felt a rather large piece of metal dislodge from his arm.

"I must say, Captain, you should donate your salary to whoever designed this piece of armor. Without that heavy weave material I'd be fitting your for a cybernetic arm at the moment." Chakwas' slight ribbing received a smile from Oriana, who was holding a metal pot in her hand as the doctor dropped in pieces of metal, and occasionally a piece of heavy weave of kevlar and carbon fiber that was formerly a part of Shepard's armor.

" 'Randa told me that you threw yourself in front of her to protect her, it's so romantic."

"You need a boyfriend." Shepard quickly responded, feeling a bit embarrassed how Oriana was seemingly seeing her sister's relationship with him as though it was a fairytale.

"Before they left, your friend Jack gave me the comm channel for Jason's omnitool." Her face grew a bit red at that admission.

"Wait wait wait, _Jack_ gave you the information?" Shepard asked in amazement, Chakwas' eyes even showing some interest in what she just heard, even though she still picked away at the remaining pieces in his arm.

"She really encouraged it, she said he acted different around me compared to her other students."

"I see..." Shepard didn't want to say anything, knowing full well Jack was doing this just to get back at Miranda. Then again, Oriana did seem to fancy Prangley when he saw them listening to Copeland's stories. He just reminded himself to stay clear of the whole situation, it was a different version of cold, hard, math.

Traynor's soft british accent filled the med bay, _"Captain, Liara's sending over some information, patching her through."_

_"Shepard, we're doing what we can to salvage some information, Tali is sending it over to my servers to decrypt. Some of it was lost thanks to Kasumi's viruses-"_

_"I did what I was told to do!"_ Kasumi yelled in the background, causing Oriana to chuckle at her friend defending her actions.

"No one's blaming you, Kasumi." Shepard interjected. "Go on, Liara."

_"Yes, well, anyway it seems that what we can find so far shows that Santelli was the only independent researcher on the station, everyone else was either indoctrinated by reaper tech beforehand or Santelli had enslaved them himself in recent days."_

"That doesn't seem to narrow down if he was doing this solely for his own interests or if this is part of Cerberus' fallback plan after losing Cronos Station."

_"Agreed. Javik is attempting to use his abilities to determine what all happened here in recent days, see if there's something he can tell us before the data is decrypted."_

"Good idea. Did Brynn discover anything out of the ordinary?" Shepard had sent Jacob and Brynn back to see if she could determine anything that was consistent with her own research before she left Cerberus.

_"Not yet. She did say she worked with him years ago on a project to improve effectiveness of stimpacks, making it possible to work for days without rest. He seemed to be a normal Cerberus researcher, wanting to help humanity level the playing field against the asari and salarians in terms of technological breakthroughs."_

Taking all this information in, Shepard held his breath as another piece of his armor was plucked from his arm, Chakwas lifting her free hand to apologize while he was talking to Liara.

"Miranda's working on trying to trace the shuttle as it left the Exodus Cluster. You're the doctor, if you had information that could change the balance of power in the galaxy, where would you go now?"

"I'd say Noveria."

The response was not from Liara, but from Chakwas, lightly poking fun at the open-ended response he gave the asari. He smirked, realizing that he was surrounded by more doctors than he though, Miranda being another aboard the ship.

Chuckling into the channel, Liara replied _"I do agree with Karin, Shepard. Omega and Illium are too far and prone to too much potential hostilities at the moment. Earth is too heavily guarded. Santelli would want to either continue his work or sell it as-is to someone right now. Or, goddess forbid, he's just looking for a habitable place to infect."_

"We _won't_ let that happen again." Shepard had switched into his soldier tone, which carried with it a sense of fear to anyone who hadn't been around the Captain in the past years. It was what Oriana saw, and heard, when she had a gun held to her on Horizon, and in Silversun.

"Liara, we're heading for Noveria now. Have Tali head back to the Normandy. Decrypt what you can, we'll be back within 48 hours."

_"But John-"_

"It'll be alright, Liara. I trust you to get it done. You're in charge over there." He knew that his friend wanted to be by his side, but he couldn't afford to wait with such an immediate threat out there.

_"Understood. Tali is on her way back now. I'll keep in touch if we have any new information."_ Liara's depressed reaction being heard by everyone in the room as she ended the conversation.

Sitting in the room with an awkward silence after that conversation, Shepard didn't really know what to do next.

Chakwas, still picking away at Shepard's arm, broke the silence with a request. "Oriana, if you would, please fetch me and the Captain some tea. Milk in the cup before, dear."

"Of course, doctor." Oriana placed the pan on portable table and gladly did as she was told, happy to help the elderly woman with anything she requested.

As the door closed, Chakwas got to the point, Shepard having an idea why she wanted Oriana gone, this being the lead up to one of their mother/son talks that Shepard had learned to appreciate over the years they worked together. In many ways Karin Chakwas _was_ the mother he never had.

"You know Liara loves you," Chakwas said softly, in a matter of fact tone.

"I care about her too, she's one of my closest friends," Shepard said, trying to not let the conversation get to where he knew it would inevitably lead to.

"John, you know what I mean. She's one of the sweetest females I've ever met, but she's never stopped being infatuated by you since Therum. I think she might have expected something more...intimate to occur during the war."

"Never crossed my mind." Shepard said immediately.

"Oh I know. For as long as I've known you, you've always been an upstanding gentleman. I'm just pointing it out, call it a 'motherly instinct.' Ashley has moved on, even Tali got over her crush, but I don't get that feeling with Liara. She does her best hiding it, but it still shows through in the toughest of spots. You should have seen her when the Normandy left you on the Citadel."

Shepard used his left hand to rub his face, hiding embarrassment at the conversation. "Karin, I don't know what to say. I love Miranda, that's never going to change. She's why I fought so hard over the past months, I...I can't even think of leaving her. Liara knows this, especially now, and I would think it would allow her to move on as well."

Chakwas could see that he didn't want to deal with this conversation at the moment, wrapping it up as politely as she could. "You're always the optimist, John. I've said my part and I'll leave it in your capable hands."

She lifted her glasses up onto her head, pinching him on the cheek just to tease him. "You're all good, Captain. Let me just apply some medigel and bandages and you can go get your other arm cut off tomorrow."

"Thanks, Karin. For everything. Even these incredibly awkward talks." Shepard's grin as he said these words attempted to hide his sincerity, but she knew full well he valued her opinions, feeling that same motherly connection to Shepard as he did to her.

Oriana had returned, teas in hand, just as Chakwas had requested. Thankfully, she seemed oblivious or simply uncaring about anything they might have discussed.

Handing the teas to their respective drinkers, she looked to John as she asked a question. "Capt, I mean John, can I ask you a question?"

Taking a sip of the tea, Shepard nodded his head, a satisfied 'mmm hmm' coming from his closed mouth as he enjoyed the tea she had provided.

"I've just never seen someone be able to flip a switch from jovial to angry like you, are you sure you're ok? From what I saw on Silversun to just now, it's like you're ready to break any second now."

The seriousness of the question was surprising to Shepard and Chakwas, the doctor's eyebrow being raised with the mention of Silversun, wondering what happened there.

Shepard took this question in while he drank another sip of his tea. He looked at Oriana with sincere eyes. "I'm just trying to make sure no more innocents suffer, Ori. At N-School you're put through incredible trials and tribulations, things get beaten into you there that would make a normal person break; you had to treat it like a switch or you _would_ go crazy."

Chakwas nodded her head in agreement as she took a sip, letting the point reach the young woman. "One of my first jobs in the alliance was working at the Villa in Rio, the amount of washouts at even the N1 level is staggering. And those candidates are still some of the best we have, mind you."

Shepard tilted his head in thanks at the doctor's words before he continued. "What you see now is who I am, Ori. The face you see when I shot that turian, or spoke to Liara at the end of our conversation, that is the face of what I was trained to do, protect innocent people. I wasn't going to let those thugs shoot those Duct Rats on the strip and I sure as hell wasn't going to stand for them to hold a gun to your head. And what we saw down on Eden Prime, it's not something people need to see, especially now that the war is over."

"Duct Rats?" Chakwas asked.

"I was recovering at my apartment on Silversun, the power was out everywhere except the Presidium. When we headed to meet with the Council we saw some thugs attempt to shoot some Duct Rats who stole their chits from the casino. You know me, doc, orphans stick together."

Oriana took all this information in, finally realizing why he seemed so adamant to protect those two kids. It also made what he did on Eden Prime seem more understandable, protecting those kids that Miranda had told her about.

She bowed her head a bit as if to apologize for her question. "It all fits together now, I'm so sorry to have brought this up."

"Ori, don't apologize, you responded just like any normal person should. You're just sharing a ship with people who have been through just as much crap as I have in their lives. We're the traveling ship of dysfunction, fixing other people's messes." His infectious smile again shone through, causing her to smile in return.

While all this was going on, Chakwas had completed bandaging up Shepard's arm, giving him a pat on the back to let him get to his feet. At least this time he got up with minimal pain from his chest, his ribs healing but still not at one hundred percent.

"If you ladies will excuse me, I've got some coordinates to punch in." He smiled as he lifted his mug of tea to bid adieu, grabbing his blue N7 shirt as he left the room. "Good tea, by the way. You're learning well, Ori."

"This _is_ good tea, dear." Chakwas agreed, Oriana putting her hands together at the praise.

* * *

"Joker, When Tali arrives set a course for Noveria, we're going after that bastard who was creating Adjutants." The Captain was behind his pilot's chair in the cockpit, mug still in hand.

"You're in luck, Captain, Cortez just docked with Tali. Setting a course now, I can get us there in twelve hours."

"Good man. Ask for Oriana to bring you up a cup of tea, she really does a good job."

"You've been hanging out with too many people who have accents, Captain. Whatever happened to a good cup of coffee?" The joke was a bit flat, but Shepard was glad that his pilot had seemed to be working his way out of whatever funk he's been in since EDI was gone.

Sitting down in the co-pilot's seat, Shepard wanted to see firsthand what might happen when the relay jump didn't go through.

It was a nice moment of silence between the two, a captain having full faith in his pilot , watching from the corner of his eye how he moved his hands around the dials and screens, the frigate dashing about graciously, first from the Cerberus station, and then passing Eden Prime as they headed for the relay.

Shepard had noticed that at least three other Alliance frigates had arrived , their silhouettes reflecting off of Eden Prime's warm blue glow.

Joker turned on the intercom, his voice echoing through the CIC. "Coordinates set for Horsehead Nebula, the planet Noveria, relay jump in ten seconds."

Coming across the relay Shepard watched as the Normandy ran parallel, the blue of the core sending out waves of blue over the ship. It was something Shepard realized he should watch more of, in some odd way it was incredibly relaxing, having no control over the situation.

Feeling that momentary increase of acceleration, Shepard waited for the jump to not occur, but was greeted with the blueshift that he had seen all before. Taking a sip of tea, he asked bluntly, "Is this thing about the relays not connecting just a big joke everyone was playing on me?"

"I swear, Captain, it was a serious thing. Ask Admiral Hackett! I guess whatever the Crucible did finally worked its way out of the relays."

"Let's hope so, Jeff, it'll help get the galaxy back up and running."

"Yeah, it seems that most of the turian fleet had left Earth, heading back for Palaven. They even dropped off some of the krogan forces back on Tuchanka too."

"No shit?"

"Yeah, I think you might have made them get _too_ friendly during the war. A krogan and turian coalition would be damn near unstoppable. If the Alliance didn't have you, that is."

"It does make you wonder what politics is going to look like now. Hopefully by the time we take care of Santelli their will be a few more races up there."

"Amen to that, Captain."

Glad to be speaking to Joker like he used to, Shepard pressed a button at his chair. "Oriana, two cups of tea to the cockpit, please. Just like you made before."

"Yes, sir!" Was the eager response from the med bay.

"I like having her aboard, Captain. It's like all the fun that Miranda doesn't have got cloned into her instead."

_That's the type of joke he expected to_ _hear_, Shepard thought. He couldn't help but grin at the remark, though, letting the comfortable silence surround them a bit as they watched the blueshift carry on.

"How do you like Miranda's new office being just a skip away?"

"It's fine by me, we never used that room anyway. While you were under house arrest the Alliance seemed like they were moving things around just for the hell of it, just to spite Cerberus. No more surveillance bugs, but a lot of crap like that scanner leading into the war room."

"I remember Westmoreland and Campbell talking about that during the war, seems to be because of the Collectors boarding the ship."

"Hah! You really think a scanner's going to stop a half-dead alien?"

As Joker finished speaking the two could hear the footsteps of Oriana hitting the grate up to the cockpit. Shepard took the opportunity to stand up and take the two mugs from her, handing off his finished mug as she gave a mock salute. Shepard gave one mug to Joker, using his hand to tell Oriana to wait a minute, wanting to hear his response as he took a sip.

"Wow, that's some good tea. Just the right amount of milk." Joker took a second to turn his chair to face the other two, lifting his mug in praise to Oriana.

"Good job with the tea, love. Bloody beautiful stuff this is." Joker had attempted to give a British accent as he finished his compliment, but had failed. Badly.

Oriana rolled her eyes as she heard that, her face still showing a smile from the compliment he gave her. "That's a British accent, Joker. I'm Australian." Shepard nodded his head over to the co-pilot chair, trying to get Oriana to sit down and talk to Joker, help lighten him up a little bit more. She gladly accepted the invitation as Shepard headed off to his cabin.

As he left he could hear the two talking, Joker asking a question he wondered himself, "Yeah, that's something I don't get, if you're a clone how come you have an accent just like your sister?"

* * *

Entering his cabin Shepard saw that Miranda had also retired for the evening, wearing her bathrobe as she brushed her hair at their bed, having just gotten out of the shower. With only the desk lamp and the aquarium providing light, she seemed to be looking at his dog tags on his desk as she brushed away, something that he knew was her way of placing all of the days events away in her memory, for recall at a later date.

Seeing him walk into the room, she gave him a smile that washed away all the troubles of the world, her eyes having that certain blue shine that seemed to only magnify in the presence of his barren aquarium.

"Come here, John." Miranda politely ordered as she patted the bed. Shepard complied as he took off his shirt and jeans, sitting on the edge of the bed. Miranda placed herself behind him, rubbing his shoulders with a biotic massage, letting the pulsing help relax his muscles after the day they had.

As he sank lower, feeling his muscles relax, she moved her hands to his front, massaging just between his ribcage and his abdomen, attempting to apply soothing pressure to help with his recuperating ribs.

Placing her head on his shoulder, she whispered clearly into his ear, nothing seductive in how she spoke. "Thank you for protecting me on Eden Prime. Seeing what that metal did to your arm, I think it's safe to say it would have passed through my barrier, had I even been able to create one in time."

Shepard placed his hands on hers, stopping her from massaging him. He lifted her right hand up, kissing it softly before he gave his response in a deep, earnest tone. "If I have to say it everyday until the day I die, I'll gladly do so. You are the most important thing there is to me, Miranda. I love you."

Feeling her cheeks get warmer as it sat next to his, Miranda hugged him firmly from behind, finally kissing his jawline twice before trying to lean back with him, letting him know it was time to go to bed.

Shepard let his self fall back, but because of how he fell he was now on the wrong side of the bed. This simply wouldn't do. Surprising Miranda, he lifted her over himself as he slid over, her face showing a smile of surprise at the strict adherence to bedtime procedure.

Miranda spooned up against him, hearing no grunts of pain as she deliberately bumped his chest, making sure his ribs were ok.

"Chakwas did a good job cleaning out my arm, though I'm going to have to change my armor until we can get back to the Citadel or some shops."

"I thought Cortez was one of the best repairmen in the Alliance."

"You can ask Oriana about it. Half the armor covering my arm was either embedded in muscle or is still in that field on Eden Prime."

"She's taken to Chakwas pretty well."

"Everyone likes her, Miri. She's just the right amount of energetic and optimistic without being annoying. Even Jack likes her."

"Hmmph!" Miranda couldn't help but offer a subdued chuckle at that sentence.

Placing his hand on her abdomen as he took in her scent, he asked, "I feel foolish for asking, but you know why we're headed to Noveria, right?"

"Of course, John. It's Santelli's only feasible location to sell or enhance the adjutant serum."

"Such a smart brain you have." Shepard kissed the back of her head, Miranda attempting to nuzzle even closer, Shepard knowing what she was trying to do.

A moment of tension passed before she replied, "With twelve hours until we arrive, how _will_ we pass the time, John?"

"Well, I-" before Shepard could even attempt to say anything, joke or otherwise, Miranda had turned herself around in the bed, giving him a mischievous look as their lips connected, Miranda using a wave of her hand to turn off the desk light.

**In case anyone feels upset at the Chakwas talk about Liara, I'm not trying to treat Liara badly, and there won't be any attempt at romantic tension after this scene, just an acknowledgement that it exists. Liara actually grew as a character in ME2 and ME3 rather well, it was just that Bioware pushed her so much in the game to be the romance of choice, more often than not at the expense of others like Miranda and Jack, that it made me a little annoyed. The idea of her still having feelings for Shepard comes from her specific extended cut scene as the Normandy evacs your squad in London, where if you don't romance her she pretty much stops herself from saying she loves you. Kind of an awkward thing to drop on a guy trying to avoid a reaper's beam, right?**

**As for Oriana's accent, it could always be the case that her foster family was also Asutralian, but it just seems like a big coincidence when it comes to living away from Earth.**


	14. Morning Activities

14: Morning Activities

Shepard awoke to find that Miranda was still cradled in his arm, something he hadn't really expected to see. The only reason he could think for this was that he had woken up early, before their usual six to eight hours of rest had expired.

He was in no real position to check his clock as he laid there, as all he could see was Miranda's dark black hair as she was nestled against his body. Judging by how peaceful she remained, she was still lost in slumber, and he didn't want to give any sudden movement to disturb that sleep.

He lifted his head slightly to see if he could read the clock's reflection of the off of any available reflective surface, but it was no use. He made a mental note to make sure he fixed this situation in the future.

Despite waking up early, he didn't feel tired at all, and looked forward to using the extra time to head down to the shuttle bay to check his equipment, maybe get in some reps on James' weights. Now came the tricky part.

Shepard lifted the sheets up to cover Miranda as he slid his arm off the top of her body, doing what he could to replace warmth with warmth. He slowly separated his body from hers, placing his pillow behind her back in order to provide a pale imitation of a structure for support.

Slipping out of bed in just his boxers, he was thankful for his lack of tidiness the other night, simply picking up his clothes and shoes as he headed for the cabin door, deciding to change in the elevator. He was able to glance at his clock finally, seeing that it had just passed five in the morning Normandy time.

Knowing where to walk in his cabin to avoid loud sounds and squeeks, the loudest sound during this time was the door opening, which almost signaled his defeat at sneaking away, but Miranda didn't move at all.

Taking his time to change as he put on his clothes, and after a quick stop off at the mess hall for a protein bar and water, Shepard made his way back to the elevator, surprised to see that Ashley was also heading down to the bay for a morning workout.

"Skipper." She nodded politely, some surprise at seeing the Captain so early in the morning.

"Ash, getting in some exercise too, I see."

"Old habits die hard and all that."

Stepping into the elevator, Shepard finished eating the protein bar in his hand, Ashley getting a look at his bandaged bicep.

"Heard from Vega and Tali about what you guys saw down there, Eden Prime just never gets a real break..." Ashley sighed a bit at that realization.

"I need to figure out a new way to engage them; if you get more than two of them coming at you they just detonate their biotics endlessly, and that's not even factoring in how they infect anyone they touch."

Stepping into the shuttle bay, Shepard continued as he allowed Ashley to step off first, "Eight of the best fighters in the galaxy made to look like fools, if Hackett saw that fighting he would have immediately stripped me of my promotion."

"How'd you fight them on Omega, then?"

"Distance, no civilians, my Mattock, the most powerful biotic around, and a turian who sacrificed herself to take out a few of them with explosives." Shepard didn't realize how depressing that sounded until it left his mouth. In many ways Nyreen was similar to Ashley, doing what she could to help those unable to help themselves.

"You're _really_ dour in the morning, Skipper." Ashley said playfully, trying to get his mind off what he just said.

As they walked into the bay they could see there was very little activity going on, being caught in that moment of the day when the night crew was wrapping up their duties and the day shift had yet to really get into action. Outside of two crewmembers finishing up maintenance on the shuttles, the only other person around was Vega, who was passed out in his cot.

"Well, there goes the idea of getting in some reps." Shepard said dryly. He could make Vega get up to be able to access the bench press that also occupied his little corner of the bay, but he didn't want to deprive a fellow soldier of sleep, especially seeing as how he technically had another hour before getting up for duty.

"You're going soft, Skipper. Vega's used to it." Ashley kicked his bare foot, the Lieutenant waking up immediately, Shepard realizing Ashley must be his daily alarm clock.

"Morning, Blues. Oh hey, Loco. What brings you away from Curves so early in the morning?"

_Curves, huh. I wonder if he'll let that slip out around Miranda._

"Figured I'd get in a workout since I'm up this morning, show you how it's done, Vega. 183."

Vega couldn't help but laugh at that number, Ashley wondering if the two had lost their minds.

"Blues, Loco here did 183 consecutive pull-ups, beat my record by fifty." That number drew a wide eyed response from Ashley as she picked up a few free weights.

"I knew you were exaggerating your 'record.' "

"Jeffe, I knew you wouldn't let me down," pointing at the pipe above him, Vega continued, "you can always increase your lead here, you know."

As he listened to his Lieutenant, Shepard had finished placing his weights on the bench press, settling on a light workout of 250 pounds. "Why don't you just spot me, Vega, before I decide to give this area to Grunt for your insubordination."

"Man, you really aren't a morning person, are you, Loco?" James did as his Captain ordered, spotting him as everyone began their morning workout.

* * *

"Out!"

"Don't give me that crap, Rodriguez, the ball was in bounds when Octavia made the shot!" Jack yelled at her student, this time coming from the heat of the biotiball game the students (and teacher) were participating in.

"Come on Jack, you know that was out, don't start complaining because you're losing."

"Jacob, you and your by-the-book bullshit is going to look so funny when you fall off your precious pedestal!"

"Oh come on now, it seems like you're just whining to whine." Jacob used his biotics to pull the ball from Rodriguez as everyone settled in for the game to restart, players getting in position, one of the students making sure the blown off hand of a Loki mech was back in its new position as a boundary marker.

Killing time for the students was rather easy while arriving alliance forces brought the necessary equipment needed to get the station up and running as an academy. They were, in many ways, just acting as a big moving vessel, transporting Citadel accommodations to their new home, a few technicians and hazard crews cleaning out the labs and bodies from the assault two days prior.

Watching the main hall from a server room on the third floor, Brynn smiled as she helped Liara and Kasumi continue to pull any data they can, everyone nursing mugs of soup to keep them satiated while punching the odd keystroke now and again.

Sitting back down, the former Cerberus researcher watched as Liara's eyes slowly glossed over, seemingly taking in everything that went past her face, but at the same time taking nothing in. She had been in a similar position during her own research many months ago, back when she believed in what Cerberus stood for.

"It's good to see the kids are still finding ways to keep busy, even amidst the potential problems this station might cause the rest of the galaxy."

"Youth is resilient, always has been. Think about all the stuff your kid is going to be able to bounce back from." Kasumi chimed in, letting her hacking program do its work while she checked up on extranet reports.

"That is something I'm looking forward to seeing," Brynn couldn't help but show her smile at the mention of her unborn child.

"So do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"Not yet, I didn't really pay any mind to it while working on the Crucible, I didn't want to get my hopes up in case..."

"See, that is something Jacob should have been able to knock out of your head with all the time you spent with him. It should have been even more apparent when Shepard arrived to save you guys."

"It was pretty amazing to see the Captain in action, clearing the bays for shuttle launches while everyone else watched, expecting the worse." Brynn's eyes showed a reminiscent look, moments of pain creeping in before she blinked and turned her head away.

"He...he saved Jacob, and gave my child the opportunity to have a father in their life. It's something I'll always be grateful for."

"Shepard has that way of connecting his self to you, even when he doesn't realize it," Liara added to the conversation, the other two women surprised at the asari finally joining in, even if her voice had hints of regret laced within those words.

"I was wondering where you were, Liara. The lights were on, but nobody was home."

"It's just fascinating to see how Santelli was able to just have complete control over the station, yet still be so close to a colony that he could have infected at any time. Perhaps he really was thinking of humanity's interests with this adjutant serum, or maybe he was so far down the line of indoctrination..." She tapped her finger to her lips, wondering where she was going with this idea.

"Well whatever he was thinking of, it was over the second he sent that shuttle to Eden Prime. I've never felt so helpless. What's a thief to do when you can't touch the enemy?" Kasumi raised this question as she looked to the two with eyes of genuine confusion, neither being able to offer anything more than a comforting look.

"Agreed, there's no excuse for what occurred. It always amazes me how situations of galactic importance always seems to come down to one person these days, for good or ill."

"On that subject of one person, how is your book about Javik going?"

The asari had a light smile cross her lips. "It's been...interesting. I've had Glyph take recordings to transcribe, but Javik seems to not know what he wants to do next. He was a soldier, but he now has nothing truly worthwhile left to fight, and no real power to spread across the galaxy."

"The hanar do love him, maybe he'll go live on Kahje," Kasumi joked as she stood up to stretch her arms and legs.

"That certainly is one option he's expressed. While Shepard enjoys flying to the rescue of the galaxy with his crew, taking care of the smallest problems, Javik seems to only have an 'on' or 'off' setting. He's even contemplated suicide."

"That's appalling!" Brynn said, unable to process how someone could feel that way after everything the races did to ensure their survival.

"Yeah, going from ruling jellyfish to killing yourself, those are very extreme positions."

"I've had the idea of asking Wrex to take Javik in, give him something to do, keep others in line."

Listening to Liara's opinion on the situation, Brynn and Kasumi watched as the prothean entered the room, having done a check of the facility to check with his psychometry.

"T'Soni, hooded one, pregnant one," Javik greeted them all with his deep voice, watching as his eyes moved around while his head was focused on Liara.

"Hey four eyes, find anything interesting?" Kasumi joked, but Javik simply took her greeting for what it was, a truth. He did have four eyes, after all.

"What I was able to gather about these adjutants the Captain had fought, was that they originated in research lab 3, or at the very least were created there. There presence was like nothing I have felt from any other race."

"So they existed before the protheans rose to power..." Liara added, Javik nodding his head.

"Yes, and what they were seems borderline feral, not fit for being uplifted like your races. There is an...anger there that seems to come from a need to destroy, assert dominance." Javik smiled slightly, showing his pointed teeth, "A most fearsome and desirable enemy to fight."

"It seems like the only difference between him and Grunt is 200 kilograms," Kasumi quietly added.

"I can show you what I mean, human, if you feel you are up to the task."

"No thanks, I've got memories I want to keep fresh." Kasumi had destroyed the graybox as Keiji had wanted, Shepard siding with her dead lover to honor his request. She recovered some of the data but had made sure to always keep those timeless moments at the forefront of her mind, hoping that they would never disappear.

"Here, Javik, let me see what you mean," Liara held out her hand to the prothean, who took it between his two hands, Liara receiving the information without saying a thing. Compared to when Shepard was grabbed by Javik, there was no resistance or head turning, unable to keep up with the information that was being processed.

"Goddess, the anger, and the...the way the indoctrinated humans were just...empty inside." Liara held her hand to her head, feeling the rush of emotions catch up to her.

"I think I've got enough to send to Shepard now, if you'll excuse me." Liara quietly exited the room, leaving the three to stare at each other in a somewhat uncomfortable moment.

"Pregnant one, I have heard you do not know the gender of your child, if you'll allow me I can be of assistance. To have a son would be most desired thing among my people."

Kasumi watched as Brynn did her best to decline the offer without offending the alien. "I'll...let this pass, Javik. We want to keep it a surprise now. Thank you though."

* * *

After the workout, Shepard, Ashley, and James headed up to the mess hall to eat breakfast, the shift between day and night crews becoming official as crewmembers finished their morning meals to begin work.

"Loco, Blues, leave breakfast to me. Got to fuel the fire, keep us warm on Noveria." James rubbed his hands together as he walked away from the two towards the kitchen, casting the yeomen aside, for they were in the presence of a self proclaimed culinary master.

Sitting down at the back table, Ashley and Shepard took a seat next to Garrus and Tali, who were finishing up their meals.

"Shepard, Tali was telling me about those adjutants you faced yesterday..."

"Garrus, really, this early in the morning..." Tali attempted to cut Garrus off before he continued, sounding like she knew what he was going to say.

"Going by what you said about the adjutants on Omega, and what Tali said, I was thinking about this last night-"

"To yourself," Tali quickly interrupted.

"To myself, sure, but I was thinking of something like this to keep them occupied..." Garrus handed Shepard a piece of packing material that came off one of his newly arrived rifle scopes, lines and circles drawn everywhere, some things were scribbled out that indicated this was something the turian had worked on for a while.

Looking at it intently on the table, allowing Ashley to look at it on the other side, Shepard covered his mouth with his hand, studying it intently.

"Interesting, and I take these things are...?"

"Exactly." Garrus seemed to read his friend's mind, answering his question before it was fully asked.

"It has to work better than what we did before. And with only four people, it cuts back on bottling up and being easy targets."

Ashley had figured out what the plan was, and added her own opinion. "You _are_ leaving one squad member to basically trust everyone else to do their jobs, they're kind of running light in this plan."

"I know, and I'll agree to handle that part, it will give you a chance to step back up to your old passion, LC." Shepard joked but nodded approvingly at Garrus' plan.

"You three are _dorks_." Tali dropped her finished protein shake bag on the table, hiding her helmet with her hands at the sight, three soldiers working out plans on scrap packaging instead of eating breakfast.

"Alright, alright," Shepard slid the plan back over to Garrus, trying to change the subject. "Did you have any trouble when we left the station, Garrus?"

"Just a few more soldiers, no Atlas'. We did the sterilization procedures you requested while waiting to hear from you guys, maybe they'll keep those in the rooms to scare the students into studying better."

"Jack probably _would_ go along with it."

"Speaking of the 'psychotic biotic,' she's got those kids in good shape, although I'd say she needs to cut loose every now and then, otherwise she's going to go crazy."

"I can see that. If we run into more Cerberus I'll make sure to call her back up here, give her a vacation."

"Good morning, everyone." Miranda's appearance at the table was greeted by nods and smiles from the others as she sat to Shepard's left, the two sharing a silent smile.

"James, one more plate." Shepard loudly said, hoping the Lieutenant heard his voice. Between the wall that separated this section of the mess hall and the sounds of eggs in hot skillets, it was a fifty/fifty chance.

"Miranda! How are you? Do you have anything to talk about other than squad tactics this morning?" Beyond her increased enthusiasm, especially when dealing with a person who she only trusted because Sheaprd did, Tali was trying to make sure anything but Garrus' plans were brought up, the quarian making sure that the turian knew she was scowling at him behind the reflection of her helmet.

"I was actually wondering if I could have your opinion on something, Tali." Miranda tapped on her omnitool to transfer a list. "If you can run some of these ideas by the engineering crew, I'm wondering exactly what we need to keep in the war room and if any of the programs there can be diverted to other areas of the ship now that EDI isn't around."

"Hmm, just looking at some of these right now, I think we can salvage a lot of stuff. I doubt the fleets still have us patched in to their military info after the war, I know for sure the flotilla has restricted access..."

Flicking through the data in front of her, Tali attempted to turn to her left to nod to Miranda, but Shepard was in her way. After leaning forward and back a bit, Tali trying to see Miranda and Shepard genuinely trying to get out of the way to accommodate her but just couldn't get his timing right. Finally she used her hands to push Shepard forward and keep him pressed against the table, nodding to the XO. "Yes, Miranda, we can make that work."

"Whoa now, Sparks, I can't think the XO here likes you beating up her boy toy like that," James joked as he arrived with the breakfast, including another plate for Miranda.

"You guys are really making me think about getting a whole new crew..." Shepard said, his face still being pressed on the table. Finally Tali removed her hands, allowing James to slide a plate over to the Captain.

"Bah, I'm an admiral, I can pull rank." Tali then got up, finished with her meal. "I'm going to go check in with Adams and talk about your requests, Miranda. It will give us something to do while you're shooting everything in Noveria."

"Yeah, I'm going to head down as well, get the weapons checked out. Want me to inform Cortez about your changes?" Garrus asked.

"Go for it, Cortez should have everything needed."

As the two left, Ashley quietly commented as she tore into her huevos rancheros, "Is it me or has Tali's sarcasm gotten worse since she started dating Garrus?" Taking a bite of her breakfast she was impressed, giving James a thumbs up while she still held the silverware in her hand.

"I thought the same thing when I got back on the ship, Ash. I think she's even spending nights in the battery with Garrus." As Shepard scooped a forkful of food into his mouth, he was surprised how well the food tasted. "Man, it's been so long since I had a tortilla..."

Miranda had taken her time to cut her food properly, not shoveling it in like the rest of the humans at the table. Before she brought her fork to her mouth she replied, "I kind of like this new side of Tali, she's really taking on the world now, not hiding behind anyone else."

This answer made Shepard give her a smirk, realizing she was warming up to Tali because she was becoming more like herself. Miranda gave him a look of feigned innocence as she popped her forkful of breakfast into her mouth. Waiting a moment, she commented as well, "Excellent work, Lieutenant, this is balanced just right."

Vega dropped his fork and clapped his hands together as he let out a loud woot sound, making everyone in the vicinity look at him with an odd look. "Three for three, baby! I told ya I got the magic touch!"

* * *

**2 hours later**

"Listen up, team, here's what we know thanks to what the others have decrypted." Shepard had gathered everyone at the CIC, standing on the dais as they stood by the elevator.

"Santelli was working on this adjutant serum after Omega was recaptured by Aria. Instead of turning subjects into adjutants thanks to a controlled pod infusion, he was able to modify the serum to run purely on overriding the subject's DNA with the older species. It's a species even Javik doesn't know about, but he said he had felt a vicious aura in one of the research labs."

_"Captain, Port Hanshan authorities are pulling the same crap they did three years ago, if you'd like to come up here and sort them out,"_ Joker had announced, Shepard nodding to Miranda as he stepped down and headed to the cockpit.

Miranda pulled up a diagram of the adjutants they had faced on Eden Prime, taking over for the Captain.

"Because Santelli has essentially condensed the formula as opposed to a controlled modification of the subject through periodic inhalation in an incubator, the adjutants exist for only four to six hours before they burn up, using the host's body to fuel their sudden biotic abilities. If the host already has biotic power, this seems to double the timeframe before self destructing. This would likely be a key selling point on Noveria; you have violent, disposable shock troops that can replicate at the expense of your enemy and ultimately self destruct after a short amount of time."

"Cerberus finally got the shock troops they always wanted," Garrus sarcastically said, Miranda showing no signs of offense at what was spoken.

"We have reports from the Alliance that the STG has quietly increased their presence on the planet in the sake of protecting salarian space. The Noveria Development Corporation was accommodating during the war, providing R&D access to all military forces in an attempt to help out company home worlds, but since the war has ended they have denied legal entry to all but refugee ships. This seems to be purely a PR stunt, as any ship that docked was simply refueled, restocked and sent back into space."

"Which means Santelli must have slipped in on a ship or had someone else open a back door for him..."

"Exactly, Tali. From my time in Cerberus I knew they had a lease on one of the smaller peaks under a human medical front, New Dawn Pharmaceuticals, but were never able to get further into the NDC Executive Board. While I was on the run during the war nothing ever came up about any attempted takeover, perhaps because of STG influence."

"An extra hour of downtime to the person who can guess which peak Cerberus has interests in," Shepard announced, having returned from taking care of the docking matters. As he turned the corner to the group he stayed on the ground, giving Miranda a look as if to say he hated dealing with the planet's corporate bureaucracy.

"What, three?" Cortez asked, half-expecting to have his guess be waved away. In an odd role reversal of the superior officers, it was Miranda who responded to the answer with two taps to her nose, signaling it was the correct answer.

Ashley couldn't believe what she heard, uncrossing her arms as she threw them up the air, "You're kidding me, they actually did that? How damn arrogant!"

Miranda shook her head "The NDC didn't seem to care or investigate too much as long as they had, and still do, continue to pay their lease and caused no trouble. Add to it New Dawn is three companies removed from anything _remotely_ traceable by the best intelligence various species can offer, it provided adequate cover for Cerberus research. Although anyone could do be a shining example of corporate responsibility after the Peak 15 debacle..."

"I'm confused, what am I missing here?" Tali asked.

James quietly answered, "In ancient human mythology, Cerberus was the three-headed guard dog of the underworld."

"Oh that's not fair! You have too many humans here!"

"Yeah, I don't like being seen as dumb either!" Grunt yelled out, his intent being just to yell while it was acceptable.

"Someone get the Admiral her protein bottle, she's being cranky." Everyone in attendance laughed at Shepard's joke, Tali punching his arm twice in a playful but forceful manner, cursing at him in quarian.

"Ok, ok, that's all for right now. We're going to be docking in ten minutes. Tali, make sure you've got all your hacking programs good to go. Grunt, Zaeed, Vega, you stay in the shuttle bay, get ready while we make sure we can get access to Peak Three in a more accommodating manner." The three nodded as they headed to the elevator, Zaeed pulling out a cigar, offering one to the other soldiers. Shepard saw that Grunt took one before the doors shut.

Ashley and I are the only ones allowed to maintain access to weapons, but we'll double up for you guys just to make sure you have a firearm. Armor up, everyone."

**Javik is hard to write. It's one thing to have a renegade-type character while you have a war who is able to always be second guessing you, but adding post-war stuff to him, and on top of that he's not even human like Zaeed and you get tripped up a bit.**


	15. Breaking the Ice

15: Breaking the Ice

Stepping back onto the docking platform, Shepard was amazed at how little anything changed since the last time he was on Noveria. If anything was different, it was only that he saw more security drones scanning away at his squad.

Despite the Normandy SR-2's increased size over the original, it was still able to dock in Noveria thanks to the planet's reduced atmospheric pressure, barely getting under the threshold. This allowed for handling the elements better than the Kodiak shuttle, which they had hoped to use in lieu of a Mako up to Peak Three.

The dock next to the Normandy was occupied, what looked like a human commercial ship being fueled, their commanding officer filling out various forms under protest, salarian security guards refusing to move from their standard procedure. The ship was old and had seen better days, but it didn't look like it had any damage to it.

Entering Port Hanshan's reception area, security watched as the three humans, quarian, and turian made their way to the front desk, everyone knowing who they were, if the Normandy didn't give them away. The number of salarians standing watch as opposed to the more common turian security forces did not go unnoticed by Shepard's crew.

"Captain Shepard, to what does the NDC owe this unexpected arrival?" The salarian envoy asked, feigning a greeting but unable to hide the irritation already being apparent behind his greeting. _Something seems off here..._

"As I said to the control tower before we docked, we're here to check recent arrival footage for a wanted criminal."

Jumping straight to the point, and hoping to avoid this needless back and forth, Shepard quickly added "Let me just stop another Peak 15 from happening, alright?" His frustration became apparent rather quickly, surprising Miranda as she looked on. Outside of the battlefield he was usually able to charm his way out of further complicating matters.

"I...assure you that the NDC has given considerable resources to help facilitate-"

Shepard lifted his hand to stop the salaraian, attempting to save everyone moments of manufactured spin. Looking over at Tali as he pointed for her to head to the nearby computer table to start checking flight records and scanners.

"If you'll pardon me, I've heard it all before. Tali, if you'd please."

"I'm sorry, Captain," the salarian said, irritation now trumping his ability to mediate the situation in a pleasant tone, "you do not have the authority of the administrator to be granted access to our terminals, we were under the impression that this was simply the Council making sure the facilities were safe and secure after the war, which is verified in these reports." A stack of datapads was sitting at the reception desk for perusal.

_What are they trying to hide here?_

"This is getting ridiculous," Shepard himself started to move towards the terminal, attempting to coax a response out of the guards to see if his suspicions were correct.

They were.

Clicks of pistols filled the hall, the salarian guards painting their targets. Instinctively Shepard reached for his Paladin, Miranda grabbing her Locust off his other leg and taking aim while Ashley withdrew her pistol, throwing another Predator to Garrus. Tali hid herself behind Shepard, hands ready to assist by draining the guards shields.

Before anyone had the chance to pull their triggers and escalate the situation even further, a salarian's borderline shriek was heard.

"Stop! Stop! Jordur, I swear you will lead us all into being reborn as nothing more than swamp flies!" A salarian came running into view, his black armor looking nothing like the other guards or the tailored suit of the salarian greeter.

As he waved his hands down everyone in the room complied, Miranda waiting just a second longer before she lowered her weapon and diffusing her biotics.

"Captain Shepard, I apologize, as someone of your skill can no doubt see, these are STG soldiers, even _this_ one who was so clumsy with his words..." as the salarian tilted his head to his right, the salarian greeter crossed his arms and muttered under his breath.

"My name is Padok Wiks, head of the STG crew here on Noveria. I actually saw you on Sur'kesh when you and Urdnot Wrex came to recover the female krogan. Naturally, with all the chaos Cerberus caused I was unable to greet you in person." There was something familiar about this salarian, Shepard thought, as though he was a younger Mordin.

Wiks offered his hand to Shepard, the Spectre shaking in good faith. With that everyone placed their weapons away, Miranda sticking her SMG back on Shepard's leg while the two shook hands, something the salarian paid extra attention to.

"So the STG _are_ making a move to expand salarian space after the war," Shepard lightly inquired, yet not including any hostility in his words, wondering if he would get a straight answer out of the alien.

"No no no, I can see why you would think that, but we are just coordinating the refueling situation and security duties for the time being. Our reach extends to the docks and this reception area. Using his hand to present the area in a boastful fashion, he continued

"Everything inside is still under the control of the NDC. All research has been on lockdown since that red wave arrived, damaging multiple research labs." It was an interesting thing to hear, how this red blast really did seem to reach everywhere in the galaxy.

"Synthetic Insights was the toughest hit, all their advancements into AI just vanished two weeks ago." With a sweeping motion the salarian continued, "Just off the servers completely." Hearing this, Tali tapped the information into her ominitool.

"Look, Padok, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes here, as long as there isn't work on rachni being done I don't really care at the moment, I'm just trying to stop someone capable of ruining billions of lives."

"Understandable, a heavy head and a heavy medal must play havoc on your human neck." Shepard couldn't help but grin at the salarian's joke. _Mordin said he didn't have son..._

Miranda jumped in, cutting to the chase. "We're here to see if anyone was able to sneak past the security details and automated defenses either via refugee ship or shuttle in the past day or two."

"Your quarian companion is more than welcome to check our video feeds and logs. No more weapons will be pulled now." Padok walked over to the terminal personally, Tali following as she got access, screens of data coming to life in orange squares.

Walking back to the group, Wiks continued, "There was a snowstorm four hours ago that briefly took surveillance for Peaks One through Five offline, but we detected no lingering heat signatures."

"That helps us quite a bit, actually, if you factor in the stealth technology of Cerberus Kodiaks." Miranda responded, the squad nodding in agreement.

"Peak Three is where we think the individual is," Shepard pulled up the file on Jurgen Santelli, the salarian quickly reading and understanding the situation.

"Well, I can see why this would be of concern to you, Captain, as well as your mate." That blunt response was something Shepard and Miranda were not expecting.

"Shepard, I think I have more of a confirmation here," Tali said from across the room.

"It looks like a bay door for Peak Three opened up for thirty seconds and then closed, no other Peaks have shown any activity since then."

"Alright, we've got our confirmation." Shepard pointed back to the Normandy, everyone understanding they would take a shuttle to the Peak.

"I'm surprised you don't want to take a Mako out for a spin, for old times sake," Ashley quipped.

"No!" Tali shouted, shaking her head as she seemed to push away resurfaced memories.

"Padok, make sure STG recognizes this shuttle code and have any defenses allow us safe passage."

Receiving the coordinates, Wiks responded. "Of course, Captain, but do understand the Peak may have defenses that we cannot access from here or have been overridden."

"Trust me, it's something we faced before. We'll let you know if we need any backup, should it come to that." Shaking the salarian's hand, the two groups dispersed.

"John, you could have handled that better," Miranda said as they headed back to the Normandy, ready to depart in the shuttle to Peak Three.

"Sometimes you just lose patience, Miri. Especially when it comes to these places that just curled up and tried to sit out the war. No matter what they say about sharing tech, they wanted to protect their toys."

Miranda understood a bit where Shepard was coming from now; he was a man who had to sacrifice everything for the war, including protecting her. In that regard, the amount of people who could be in the same room as Shepard was slim, and many of them were already on the Normandy. Even if the STG had helped more than the official salarian response led on, they were simply in the way of his anger.

"I did like that Padok Wiks, he reminded me of Mordin."

Shepard agreed. "Me too, I wonder if the two ever worked together."

As everyone waited for decontamination procedures to end, Shepard reminisced some more, the others listening as well. "Mordin said he wanted to take a vacation on a beach somewhere, study the seashells," he couldn't help but give a light chuckle at that thought, "I hope he's watching over us wherever he is right now."

Garrus chimed in, "Perhaps he's at that big bar waiting for everyone else." Shepard remembered the two soldiers talk just before the final push in London, it was the first time Garrus actually appeared less than stoic in the face of danger. He reached his fist out to the turian, who returned a light bump, getting the point across completely.

As the decontamination finally ended, the squad continued to the elevator, heading down to the shuttle.

Before Shepard could step into the door, Traynor waved him over to her terminal.

"Captain, we've just received an incoming transmission from Urdnot Wrex requesting to speak with you."

"Let him know I'll get back to him in six hours, we're dealing with a Virmire situation at the moment. He should back off then."

"Understood, Captain."

Walking into the elevator that the squad held open, they made their way down.

"Let's see if Cortez rigged up your little specification chart just right," Shepard said as he looked at his turian friend.

"Shepard, trust me on this, if there's one thing I know, it's being ruggedly handsome and weapons," He continued, "And if it all goes to hell and you die, I'm pretty sure Miss Lawson here will be sending me to meet you a few minutes afterwards."

Miranda conceded the point, "A very astute observation, Vakarian."

"We've got your back, Shepard, don't worry about it." Ashley said, giving a reassuring nod.

As the elevator reached the bay, Cortez saw the squad arrive and pulled out a Phaeston for Shepard. "Here you go, Captain. Extended clip, lightened and modified with cryo ammo, just as Garrus asked."

It had been a while since Shepard had used the turian weapon, preferring a more accurate and powerful shot as opposed to its rapid fire, weak shots, yet he trusted his friend that he knew what he was doing.

Cortez also handed Shepard a Predator pistol, replacing the Paladin in the locker while Miranda took the opportunity to take back her SMG as she made her way to her locker.

"I like the idea, Captain. You're basically freezing the adjutants that you might run into, slowing them down and with this girl set up to deliver rapid concussive shots, you're going to be stunning them with ease. There's just no way they'll get the jump on you like Eden Prime."

"Thanks, Steve."

"Interesting way to go about this raid. You're running awfully light," Miranda mentioned.

Shepard nodded in agreement. "True, but it's the only way to maintain a fast enough reload for the concussive shot to feed off the suit's shields. Besides, with Ashley, Vega, and Garrus watching my back, there's no way anything can come close to us."

"I thought Garrus was leading the other team..."

"I want you leading them this time, help out Tali if she needs any help hacking and deleting the data. Plus, you've got Grunt, you'll be fine."

He saw a brief moment of concern on her face before she realized that he already had this figured out a few different ways, not showing any fear of a possible worse case situation when it came to the adjutants. "Understood, Captain."

* * *

As the shuttle arrived near the correct shuttle bay to Peak Three, the cold raging winds seemed to die down as Cortez entered the hangar. The automated defenses were successfully overridden and unlike the assault on the Cerberus Station there was no resistance as the squads exited the shuttle.

Garrus whistled as he looked around the hangar; it was less manmade like the interior of the station but rather a concave shape with a big metal door to shield the inside from the elements. A makeshift walkway was provided with grates and the shuttle landing pad was in place to absorb the heat from shuttle thrusters, but by and large it was ice on the inside, so consistent in temperature that lighting fixtures seemed to be held in place meters above them simply by the ice alone.

Shepard made his way to the Cerberus shuttle that Cortez landed next to, his rifle aimed as he lifted the door, Grunt waiting with his Eviscerator to shoot anything that appeared hostile.

As the door opened, there was no one inside, no little presents Santelli might have left to occupy his pursuers.

Stepping inside to thoroughly check the pilot area, Shepard stepped back out and motioned with his rifle for Cortez to come over.

"Steve, while we're inside check the shuttle logs of this Kodiak, see if there's anything interesting, or if this was Santelli's only stop after leaving Utopia."

"I'm on it, Captain."

Stepping into the main facility, the squads stayed grouped together as they walked down the hall towards the main quarters. Looking at the map layout Padok Wiks provided, it seemed Peak 3 was similar to how Peak 15 existed, hot labs and research stations branching out from a central community area, each location being able to be remotely sealed off in order to protect the staff.

"Santelli's probably in the hot labs," Ashley mentioned, watching the rear as the squads went down the hallway.

"Either that or infecting any personnel still here." Garrus murmured, taking point at each walkway intersection, making sure the coast was clear before waving the squad forward.

Beyond the sounds of feet hitting the grating, everything else remained eerily calm, nothing out of place in any of the rooms they passed, crates still stacked as they awaited to be moved to their proper locations.

Shepard replaced Garrus at the point as they made their way to the final hallway corner before arriving at the common area. Immediately rolling off the wall into the hallway, he looked for any signs of life, and heard the whispers that had been associated with the adjutants in fights prior.

Without saying a word, Shepard looked to Garrus, pointing to his rifle barrel and then held his hand open, flicking it in the direction down the hallway as his palm remained face up. Miranda watched this, wondering what the pantomime was attempting to tell his friend. It was something she had never seen during their time fighting the Collectors, but as Garrus stepped into the hallway he fired a proximity mine right into the center of the common area, landing just below a common area table.

The whispers disappeared for a moment before returning louder in volume. Shepard looked at Zaeed and Vega, a slight nod of the head ordering them into the hallway, crouching and holding their rifles, waiting for the signal.

_Here goes nothing_. As Shepard saw the hand of on adjutant enter his field of vision he fired a concussive shot, immediately sending a freezing effect over the enemy. With that Zaeed and Vega opened up along with Shepard, the mix between armor piercing and cryo rounds giving the being no chance to respond, falling to the ground.

As another adjutant appeared into the picture, and then another, and then another, more seemingly making their appearance known by the second. Miranda felt a slight sense of trepidation wash over her, worried that what would happen would be a repeat of Eden Prime. Her fear was washed away as Shepard yelled to Garrus, "Now!"

The turian lined up his shot on the proximity mine, firing just one shot from his Viper. The round hit the proximity mine just a little from its center, exploding and causing the adjutants to recoil. As Shepard repeatedly fired his concussive shots, Ashley stepped up and threw out two fire grenades right at the entrance of the hallway and common area, immediately rolling back behind the hallway and into cover,

Shepard counted to two, being able to stun the lone adjutant still in his line of sight before the grenades detonated. As he slowly walked forward Grunt stood behind him, his height making it easy for him to aim while Shepard was still in front of him, firing from above his head. As the adjutants fell, Shepard gathered more distance between his squad and the common area, taking a peak behind the left wall, looking to see if any other beings were around.

The sounds of his Phaeston rotating with concussive shots made it clear there was still some cleanup to deal with, Vega and Zaeed having reloaded their rifles and making their way to provide supporting fire. As Grunt moved forward, two blasts from his shotgun allowed Shepard to say the words those still in cover wanted to hear.

"Clear!" The word breathed a sigh of relief into his squad, the group moving forward, Ashley still keeping guard at the rear.

"Forget what I said about you three being dorks, the plan worked," Tali said as she saw up close how effective a constant freeze of the adjutants worked, the grenades that Ashley threw being able to shatter their appendages off and make sure they had no chance to use their biotics.

"Grunt, make sure they're dead." Shepard ordered, the krogan walking up to the faces of each one, firing one eviscerator round point blank at each of their heads.

As Shepard looked around he saw that the damage of the firefight was the only thing that seemed out of place. "Tali, terminal." He pointed to the terminal at the far end of the room, the quarian complied as Garrus accompanied her.

"When I was still with Cerberus, Peak Three had a running crew of about forty members. This looks more like a skeleton crew, simply making sure warm bodies were on hand to maintain running systems while long-term tests were run and analyzed."

"Either that or Santelli was able to tag a few more people who might have been huddled in different areas."

"Shepard, it looks like security cameras were taken offline when Santelli first arrived, I'm putting them back online..." As Tali made mention of that final point, Shepard arrived at the terminal, looking at the various feeds that rotated in and out on the screen.

The various cameras showed Santelli furiously typing away in a lab, the terminal he was using looking much different than the other equipment that Shepard had seen, it's half circle table showing screens filled with data, screens in front of others, at the center of the desk sat a vial of what looked to be the Adjutant serum. Miranda had made her way over to the screens, grabbing Shepard's arm as she saw what was being broadcast from the camera.

"John, that's a problem, you need to get your team down there _now_." As she said that she quietly muttered under her breath "That bastard actually continued this..."

Nodding as he started to move to the hallway elevator he asked, "Miranda, what's that equipment?"

"It looks almost like a QEC..." Tali chimed in as Garrus followed right behind Shepard.

"Vega, you're with me while Tali works here." The Lieutenant made his way to the elevator as it opened up, the four soldiers stepping inside.

Shepard's omnitool opened up, Miranda continued to speak, keeping Shepard in the loop, "In many ways it is, Tali. This was something that was being developed around the same time I was working on the Lazarus Project."

The mention of the project that brought Shepard back to life made everyone turn to look at their Captain. Not phased by their eyes of inquiry, still finding it hard to believe the man in front of them was brought back from the dead, Shepard waited for the elevator to arrive while Miranda continued.

"Tali, before I continue, do what you can to shut off power to that lab, anything to stop his data transfer."

"Transfer..." Shepard lingered on that word, knowing what it implied.

"Exactly. It was something made to facilitate information back to the Illusive Man at a more rapid and timely pace, to either collate or distribute to other cells. What happens with regular research is that the data being produced when developing a serum or breakthrough is amazingly complex and takes up large swaths of data, and that data takes time to upload and distribute, even by the fastest extranet standards. We're talking about every diagnostic, genetic strand that was adjusted, it's the closest thing to actually doing the research yourself. But if you could harness the quantum entanglement to increase the data upload, and deliver it instantly and securely to another location, it makes research infinitely more remote and secure."

"And harder to steal..." Ashley added.

"Precisely, Williams. Breakthroughs that would remain in humanity and Cerberus' control until they chose to share it without fear of any spies or outside hacking."

Shepard added, "If we didn't find this on the Cerberus Station, it makes sense to believe these things have to be even rarer than a regular QEC."

"That's a logical conclusion, but it means there is at least one more out there if Santelli is looking to transfer the data."

The elevator finally slowed down, opening it's doors as the four aimed their rifles ahead, bracing for any adjutants that might not have been shown via the camera feeds. They were in luck, there were only two adjutants near the lab entrance door.

As Shepard fired off concussive rounds, the squad repeated their actions from the common area, making it impossible for the two beings to respond, only one was able to dash closer to the squad before being overwhelmed by firepower.

"Well, there goes the element of surprise," Shepard deadpanned.

"I want Santelli alive, Liara should be able to merge minds and find out more information. Shoot to wound unless given no other choice, disable the terminal to cut off power." The squad nodded at the orders.

As Shepard placed his hand over the locked door to begin a hacking program Tali provided all members, Vega waited to lead Ashley and Garrus into the lab, his Saber ready to drop Santelli.

The door finally unlocked, sliding away as James darted in, weapon drawn and aimed.

"Alliance, hands-" James was unable to finish his sentence as a round from a Carnifex greeted his left shoulder, making him stumble back from the doorway, his finger still finding the Saber's trigger as a round was fired into the ceiling.

"Shit," Garrus hissed as he slid into the doorway, aiming his Predator at Santelli and firing one shot, successfully shooting Santelli in his right hand, blood spurting everywhere, the hand dropping the Carnifex as he shouted in pain.

As Shepard followed Garrus into the lab, Ashley applied a dose of medigel to Vega's wound, trying to push himself back up. Swarming Santelli, Shepard placed his foot on his left hand, stopping him from reaching any weapon or device while his other hand continued to bleed. Garrus removed the adjutant vial from the terminal, firing his pistol into the machine repeatedly in order to disable it.

"I guess that should do it..." Garrus deadpanned.

"Scars, you got to kick it a bit too" James replied, arriving into the room with no help, Ashley handing him his rifle back.

Shepard lifted Santelli up, dragging him into the center of the lab. "Speak. Now."

"Captain Shepard, how nice of you to destroy the very beings that would have secured humanity's rightful place at the center of the galaxy." Santelli put on a brave face despite his injury, the blood dripping even as he tried to hold his hand up to lessen the blood loss.

"Indoctrinated?"

"Indoctrinated." Shepard nodded to the turian, Ashley and James agreeing.

"You fools, do you still think that? We had a chance at being _gods_ but you threw it all away! Think of all the suffering that would have been stopped, the lives saved, and you threw it all away in some grandiose attempt at placating your conscience!" Santelli attempted to spit at Shepard, but he missed, instead receiving a pistol whip from the turian as punishment.

"Shepard, I'm reading the terminal is offline, whatever you did worked." Tali's voice broadcast over the omnitool.

"We're on our way down now, Captain," Miranda added.

"Operative Lawson, Shepard's silver tongue must have been too tempting for you, a modern day Judas."

"Santelli, we never worked together, don't presume to act like you know me."

"No, no, you never cared about those below you, always preferring the bed of the Illusive Man and Kai Leng. Did you ever play a game of chess with Petrovsky after you helped relieve his stress?"

The three soldiers looked to Shepard, wondering if the insults would cause the man to lash out in anger. He didn't take the bait.

"You little shit..." Miranda's voice growled over the comm channel.

"I guess it doesn't matter anyway, since you were able to make sure the only thing worthy of your cold body was a dead corpse you could control." Santelli again lashed out with his tongue, getting no response from Shepard, his eyes only narrowing in anger at what the scientist was trying to do.

Ashley was the first to speak, moving towards Santelli. "All right, that's enough out of you."

"Yes, yes it is, Spectre." As Santelli turned his head away from Ashley back towards Shepard, he said one last thing, "Enjoy the gift I've given the galaxy, Shepard. It's my way of making sure the peace you fought for will only be temporary."

With that the scientist's head showcased a white flash, his eyes flickering in bright white light before they popped out of their sockets, brain matter and blood leaking out every orifice of the head. _An ocular flashbang. _

"Good Lord..." Ashley said as she stopped holding the body, it's lifeless self providing a solid thump to the ground.

"Tali, are you sure the data transfer was cut off?" Shepard immediately asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. It seemed like he was only able to upload sixty percent of the research to...oh, Keelah..."

"What? Where did the data go?"

"...everywhere, Shepard. He wasn't uploading it to another location, he was using the rapid upload to transfer the adjutant serum directly _to_ the extranet."

"That, that bastard!" Miranda's voice was as furious as Shepard ever heard her.

It had taken a moment for this realization to settle in that there was very little that could possibly be done now. Shepard looked around the room, a shocked smile being all he could show to his teammates, their faces looking just like they did when Thessia fell.

For nearly three weeks, the galaxy was working together to rebuild, tensions being nothing but the average talk, it was something that seemed too good to be true. Now, with the potential for creating biological warfare at the fingertips of any species or terrorist cell, it would only be a matter of time before the peace was broken.

And at the moment, all Shepard could think of was that it was his fault.

**Uh oh, that's not good. Will it be as bad as the squad fears? Will everyone just politely delete the adjutant data? Can Shepard not carry the blame for this turn of events?**

**Padok Wiks was a nice ME3 addition, so I wanted to show him being around in a "Mordin lived" game.**

**Thanks to everyone reading this story so far, your comments are greatly appreciated and I hope I can still throw some surprises your way.**


	16. Serenity Now

16: Serenity Now

Shepard's face was centimeters from the ground. Sweat dripping down, all he could see was the metal grating of the Normandy's shuttle bay. Straining, he pushed up, his head moving away from the ground. Reaching the full extension of his arms, he brought his body back down, repeating the task as he breathed in and exhaled.

Vertical push ups against the bay door of the Normandy was something he had found solace in as the ship made its way back to the Utopia System. It was the furthest Shepard felt he could get away from the others while still being Captain of the ship, everyone realizing the man wanted his space for the time being to digest the events of the day.

The constant consoling was attempted as the squad left Peak Three, trying to downplay how half the adjutant serum formula was now available on the extranet. Tali suggested that because the extranet might still be affected by the constant data being thrown out during and after the war, it might not be so available as it seems. Garrus suggested that the destroyed comm buoys will limit access to the information, effectively making it so far down the waiting list that it might still be able to be deleted.

It was something Shepard wanted to believe, but he couldn't stop thinking that had he simply followed through and just destroyed the station, all of this would have been a moot point. For too long he always made judgment calls believing in the basic good of others. It would have been expected, even common, for an orphaned soldier to have a more jaded view of things, especially during the war, but that inherent goodness he believed everyone shared is what made him give so many a second chance. The rachni, 'Hope Lilium', the krogan, Oleg Petrovsky, these were all decisions whose outcomes had yet to fully appear, and he wondered what else would turn around to bite him in the ass.

Up and down, up and down, this motion continued for minutes as he tried to time the pacing of his push ups with the humming of the shuttle, falling into a contemplative trance of physical exercise.

Finally, his right arm began to shake uncontrollably as the strain became too much. Shepard had tried to lower his body to the ground, giving his arm time to rest, but was unable to retain his composure as his right shoulder hit the cold metal, an angry grunt being all that he was willing to concede.

For a moment he stayed in his undignified position, closing his eyes as he continued to sweat, trying to keep the anger in check, storing it away for use on the battlefield, before he ultimately kicked his feet from the shuttle door, letting his body fall forward and arrive with a thud on the bay floor.

His eyes were still closed as he laid there, breathing in heavily as his nose caught the pleasant citrus scent that could only have been one person. _She must have used her biotics to hide her footsteps._

"Get up John, your pity party is over." Shepard opened his eyes to find his lover holding out a water bottle in one hand, a protein bar in the other. She had taken the recent downtime after the mission to dress herself in black jeans and a tank top, wearing Shepard's N7 jacket on top.

It had been nearly ten hours since the Normandy departed Noveria, and she felt that was more than enough time for him to work his guilt and anger out about what had occurred.

"I'd like to be alone, Miri." He pulled the upper half of his body up to grab for the bottle and bar, trying to show no emotion on his face but secretly admiring her as she donned his jacket.

"Tough, you said you would speak to Urdnot Wrex six hours ago. On top of that the Council is asking for a report, wondering why they didn't receive one two days ago. Get to it."

"Wrex just wants to shoot the shit or talk about support for krogan expansion, maybe ask for Grunt back for mating purposes."

Taking a swig of water he laid back on the floor, keeping his eyes closed as he swung his legs back above his body, pushing his arms up to get his body back in place to continue his attempt at working through his guilt by physical exertion. "As for the Council..."

Before he could attempt more push ups and finish his sentence, he found his body bathed in a purple glow, slowly pulling him forward and flipping him 180 degrees in a slow, deliberate manner. As he landed on his feet he saw that Miranda was attempting to stare him down, un-amused by his deliberate dereliction of duty.

"I'm going to have to ask the others about how you felt after Thessia, because this isn't like you, John."

"What do you **expect** me to feel, Miranda?!" John lashed out.

Miranda was taken aback momentarily by how loud he had gotten, seeing the crewmen at the other end of the bay looking over in a confused state. "I do everything I was told to, I make the decisions **no** **one else** will, and the _one time_ I wanted to give something back to those who we fought this war for, it all goes to **shit**!" He slammed his right fist hard against the bay door, a large thud sound echoing down the bay.

Attempting not to fight fire with fire, Miranda composed herself and calmly tried to explain to him, "It's not the end of the world, John, it's only half the available data, others have nothing to continue the research on. You know this, think it through."

"It gives others the start they need to make whatever demons they can think of!"

"And if they do, you'll be there to stop them."

Miranda's answer was fast and sincere, her eyes losing the anger she had in them before, showing absolute trust that Shepard would handle any situation that would come from Santelli's plan.

Now it was Shepard's turn to be taken aback, not expecting to hear the absolute trust she had given him. He should have expected it, but to hear her say it so quickly, it completely diffused his anger.

"It's just that...I don't know, there's no longer a single enemy to focus on, to tune everything else out." Shepard slumped to the ground, his hands covering his face as his elbows rested on his legs, the sweat from his workout still pouring out of him.

Miranda joined him against the bay door, sitting cross legged to his left as she watched him try and explain his emotions, laying her head on his shoulder to comfort him. They sat there, taking in the moment, Miranda watching the others across the bay get back to work, doing their best to watch their two officers out of the corners of their eyes, Vega and Cortez heading to the elevator to get dinner.

Finally Shepard removed his hands from his face, leaning his head to rest on top of Miranda's. "Geth attacking? Fine. Collectors? We stopped them. Reapers? We united, became stronger. But now..."

"You're worried that your allies will give all that up to help themselves." Miranda answered.

"_My_ allies I trust," Shepard said as he placed his left hand on the interior of Miranda's right thigh, rubbing slightly with his thumb, "it's those around my allies I worry about. Dalatrass Linron, Admiral Xen, the krogan..."

"Don't let your faith in others get lost, John. You might not see it, but you have a good eye for who you place your trust in."

Miranda lifted her head from his shoulder and used her biotics to make Shepard look at her face to face.

"You need to look at the other side, John. Yes, Santelli escaped, but your decision was sound. It was to give a message of hope that rebuilding could happen in the galaxy."

Miranda lifted herself off the ground, helping Shepard up as well. Still looking in his eyes, she held his hands in hers. "And because you helped rebuild Grissom, think of those who will get the chance right now to help everyone. Who knows, they might be able to develop better biotic training methods, implants to help the feeble, help cure remaining diseases, they are the best and brightest of humanity, and you are giving them a renewed purpose."

A slight smile emerged on his face as they kissed softly, both closing their eyes as they held each other close, taking in each other's distinct smells that they found so alluring about the other.

"So I'm playing the long term game with my decisions."

"Absolutely, and the galaxy will thank you for it."

"All I need is your thanks," Shepard slowly took his jacket off of Miranda, keeping her body close as he did so, "and my jacket, of course."

"I guess the jokes mean your pity party is over."

"I don't have many, but when I do I like to make them stand out."

Miranda huffed and took the jacket back, Shepard relinquishing with no resistance, realizing that it was a lost cause. "Go shower, John, you have some calls to return. I'll bring your dinner up to you."

The two made their way to the elevator, hand in hand, the water bottle and protein bar hovering along a few paces behind them thanks to Miranda's biotics.

* * *

Shepard arrived in his cabin to take a shower, stripping from his workout attire near his bed, leaving his clothes in a pile by his locker.

Making sure that Miranda didn't somehow arrive in front of him via some kind of magic, Shepard made sure to check a hidden compartment he made in his cabin just before he and Miranda became romantically involved. To the right of his locker there was a small hideaway panel that he removed from the floor, something that the Alliance never even anticipated.

From the small compartment Shepard pulled out a small box that was no more the size of two thermal clips, it's small, rectangular shape made out of mahogany wood, the deep brown color showing its age as it had many nicks and scratches in the lacquer.

Inside it were only three items. One was the Rosary beads of the nun, Sister Janice, who brought him into the orphanage to escape the gangs that he ran with early in his life. Another was a hand written letter from David Anderson congratulating Shepard for his defense of Elysium and recommending him for the N7 program. The final object was the Victory Ring that EDI, and subsequently Oriana, returned to him after the war.

Shepard looked at the ring, his thoughts swirling as he held the item in his palm. He loved Miranda so much, but he truly didn't know if she was the type of woman who wanted to be married. Her independence is what made her who she is, it's what drew him to her to begin with.

Yet at the same time she claimed possession of his N7 jacket, showing that she did choose to announce her attachment to him. Marriage or not, it didn't matter to Shepard, he just wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

There was just something that felt so...natural about making her Miranda _Shepard_. Chakwas would chalk this up to his gentlemanly nature and applaud him for it. Joker would probably laugh about something so trivial for modern times. Oriana and Kasumi would jump for joy at the sight of a ring on Miranda's finger.

Knowing that it was still there, and that Miranda hadn't found the location, even with her detailed knowledge of the ship, he placed the box back in the hideaway and headed into the shower, realizing her would have to speed things up in the shower to not make Miranda suspicious about what he was doing as opposed to showering.

Hitting the shower switch, Shepard let the hot water wash over him as he fired up his shaver, using his free hand to lather himself up with shower gel to speed up and get back on that untold, unspoken schedule. As he stood under the water, letting the soap wash off, he saw the bathroom door open, a naked Miranda stepping in, surprising but hypnotizing Shepard with her beauty.

She made her way into the shower as Shepard turned off the shaver, tossing the device into the sink as Miranda embraced him, kissing him deeply underneath the water.

Pulling away for a second, Shepard asked, "Dessert first?"

"Of course," continuing their kiss as Miranda placed herself under the water completely, leaving Shepard out in the cold. "I'm afraid you need to be punished for your pouting earlier, it's just a sandwich for dinner."

"Then I can take my time in here," Shepard continued to kiss her repeatedly, his lips moving down her neck as Miranda shivered and giggled in their embrace.

* * *

Properly dressed and standing in the QEC, Shepard looked at the blue hinged Council that sat in front of him, light years away. He had just given his report about the whole situation, from attacking the Cerberus station to Eden Prime to Noveria, explaining what exactly the adjutants were and their origins. He left nothing out of his report.

"So you're saying this formula was only partially uploaded to the extranet?" Tevos asked, making sure she heard the Spectre correctly.

"Yes, ma'am. From what my crew has told me, there is a strong chance the extranet upload might be limited to the Horsehead Nebula due to the damaged comm buoys and relays suffering damage following the Crucible beam."

"What I'm really hearing, Captain, is that the blueprints for a weapon that is a liability to every species is or will soon be available on the extranet, and that it was the result of your mishandling of the situation!" Sparatus yelled out, slamming his hand on his table, any mended fences seemed to already be broken.

"Yes sir, I accept full responsibility and I will willingly take care of any hotspots should someone develop the serum to it's original capacity. However, the only known area of research was beyond the Omega 4 relay, and all IFF information was destroyed with the Crucible beam. The relay is effectively sealed off for the time being."

Handling the turian councilor's outburst with greater restraint than he thought he had, Shepard watched as the turian nodded his head momentarily, letting the facts that he just heard sink in, realizing there is a good chance this might not be a completely destabilizing element to galactic peace.

Shepard continued, "I am currently on my way back to the Utopia System to pick up the rest of my crew, and with their added information we should be able to determine if the extranet connection is isolated. I've got some of the best people on the job for this, I guarantee that I will make it right."

Councilor Osoba conceded, "Of course, Captain, despite this setback the Council still maintains its trust in you. This is simply something we were not prepared for, with the krogan on the verge of civil war we do not want to deal with two unstable threats at the moment."

Shepard's eyes widened at what he just heard. "Wait, what's happening on Tuchanka?"

Councilor Valern began to speak, coughing before he started. "It seems the genophage cure has created hostiles among the clans regarding breeding privileges. Those who were off Tuchanka demand primary rites with the females, claiming they were the ones who saved the galaxy. The krogan who stayed on Tuchanka to fight off the Reapers demand first rites because they stayed and shed blood for their home world."

"Surely Urdnot Wrex and Bakara could mediate the situation, they held the krogan together during the war."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I believe that is the old human saying," Valern continued, "It seems the krogan only cared to fight the reapers so they could get back to fighting each other and settle old scores."

"I know Wrex personally, I can head for Tuchanka after picking up my squad and sort this out. I _do_ have another Spectre with me, we can handle the situation. " Shepard made sure they heard that last line, knowing that they were playing petty games with Ashley's status after the Cerberus coup.

The Council looked at each other, pondering Shepard's willingness to handle the situation. Finally Tevos spoke. "Very well, Captain Shepard. You and Spectre Williams will head to Tuchanka to make sure the krogan are able to maintain peaceful relations with the rest of the galaxy."

As Shepard nodded, the asari held up her hand, stating that she was not finished. "The situation on Tuchanka cannot get out of hand or spread beyond the planet, Captain. Your actions in Utopia were understandable given the unknowns, but this is very cut and dry and stems from _your_ decision during the war; resolve the conflict by any means necessary, or you and humanity will be held accountable for what happens."

Shepard's eyes narrowed to a harsh gaze as he heard the asari's thinly masked threat, seeing that even Councilor Osoba had the same unflinching eyes that the others on the Council had. In many ways he wondered if the political game had already claimed another victim, or perhaps even a willing accomplice at the sight of a councilor's power.

"Understood, councilor. We will be making a brief stop at the Citadel before heading to Tuchanka. Spectre Shepard out."

With that Shepard stepped away from the QEC, walking back down to where the war room was. Adams and the others had removed the various terminals from around the war display, diverting their abilities to assist with VI programs to pick up during EDI's absence. He raised his omnitool to his face, pressing one button before he spoke.

"Garrus, I need to see you in the War Room for a minute."

A brief moment passed before his friend responded, "On my way, Shepard."

For whatever reason, the news about the krogan didn't seem to bother Shepard as much as the adjutants did the days before. He trusted, and still does trust, Wrex and Bakara, but it seemed too good to be true that those two would be able to usher in a new age for the krogan without having to clean house of the more stubborn clans.

Garrus had arrived faster than Shepard thought, especially since this was during the downtime, right before he expected everyone to turn in for the night. Perhaps in all their fights together he was able to pick up the severity in Shepard's tone that the Captain couldn't even realize he was inflecting. While still in his armor, he was without his visor, something that momentarily confused his human friend.

"Garrus, seems like there's a problem on Tuchanka and I want you to also be here while I speak to Wrex."

His mandible twitching at the news, the turian joked, "And here I thought the krogan were above such petty things."

As the two stepped to the circular terminal, Traynor patched in the correct channel to speak with Wrex.

Waiting a few moments as the channel was secured and verified on either ends, the krogan's voice emerged, loud and raspy, showing signs that he might have been interrupted, possibly from a meeting with krogan clans. "Shepard, 'bout time you finally call back. Hopefully that really was a Virmire situation and you weren't being a damn pyjack."

"Long story, Wrex, I can fill you in later."

"Uh huh. Listen, as much as I wanted to talk to you about saving the galaxy, things are about to get heated on Tuchanka. I was wondering if you could swing by, help me control the situation. It's my brother."

Garrus responded first. "Wreav? I thought Kalros killed him."

"Glad you're still around, Garrus, a shame you weren't impaled by a brute in London." Wrex couldn't help but joke around with his friend, no matter how dire the situation was. His lingering laugh made the turian roll his eyes, Traynor lightly chuckling at the back and forth going on between the friends.

"I live only to make you suffer, Wrex."

"Hahahah. Anyways, you thought right, but it seemed Wreav was simply hiding away until we left for London, consolidating clans to help with Tuchanka's resistance. He seemed to put aside his anger until the war was over, that's something at least."

Shepard added. "I spoke with the Council, they said that this comes down to breeding privileges and who fought harder during the war."

"The Council, hrmm, this is going to make us look bad, delay our seat. But that's the gist of it. Hard to believe anyone would say they had it tougher than we did, right Shepard?"

"I agree Wrex, but one thing's for sure, your brother has been beating the drums of war long enough. It's going to have to be taken care of."

"Exactly, so you should help out, and maybe give me back Aralakh Company's leader, shore up my strength."

Garrus listened to Wrex's plan before he added, "It almost sounds like you're thinking more about the politics of the situation as opposed to just marching in there and shooting Wreav in the head."

"You might be the third best shot in the galaxy, but you're still pretty good at deducing things, Vakarian." Shepard couldn't help but smirk at his friend when he heard that line, the turian closing his eyes for a second and shaking his head.

"The optics _would_ look good for me, I can't argue with that. Shepard is seen as a hero on Tuchanka, especially among the females, and having Grunt bridge that gap between old and new orders will work well for what I attempt to do with the krogan. I'd rather die than have our species fall back to their old ways."

"I trust you, Wrex. We should be there in two days, hopefully you can have everything ready to roll by then. Send Bakara my regards."

"Shepard. Garrus." With that Wrex closed the channel.

"Traynor, ETA for Utopia."

"Within the hour, Captain."

"Send Liara all the available information, tell her to make sure everyone is ready to board."

"Understood, sir. Also, Captain," Traynor continued, unsure if Shepard would allow her to finish, his head nodding for her to speak freely, "I just wanted to let you know that there's a good chance we can take the legs out from Santelli's 'gift.' I have a few friends who owe me some favors when it comes to the extranet. Some...shady associates who know about security and the bandwidth channels."

A smirk arrived on Shepard's face. "I'm glad those Kepesh-Yakshi games have finally paid off."

"You'd be surprised the clout I have in some circles, it might go even beyond your own in the real world, Captain."

"Whatever you can do to help, Samantha, it would be appreciated." By using her first name, Shepard was attempting to show his trust in the yeoman, the woman having surprised him multiple times in the past with her technological abilities.

"I know you beat yourself up all the time, but in this instance it's unnecessary, sir. You can't be paranoid enough to think only bad things will happen."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, firmly shaking him, making sure he looked her in the eyes, "You _have_ seen your XO, right? That's a bloody jackpot right there, nothing bad in _that_ package."

Shepard's eyes got wide as he heard Traynor's open compliment/ogling of her XO, surprised how informal she became. In many ways he wondered if she and Vega were separated at birth.

"Thanks, Traynor, that's...thanks. We'll be in the shuttle bay until we reach Utopia."

"Aye aye, Captain." She saluted in earnest as the two soldiers left the War Room.

Heading into the elevator, the two friends gave each other a look that seemed to say "I told you so" as they slouched on opposite ends of the elevator.

"It's been a while since we've fought krogan."

"Any other plans you want to try out for the fight?"

"I was thinking about something to drop asteroids on Wreav and his friends, show them how much fun that can be."

"I'm thinking you, me, Vega and Zaeed for this one. Grunt will no doubt lead Aralakh Company when we touch ground, at least that's what I'd do if I was Wrex."

"Shepard, can I ask why you've been keeping Vega in your squad?"

Shepard held up his hands as if to give a what-can-you-do response. "He accepted going in to N-School, but since it's probably destroyed, I'm doing what I can to teach him. It's not quite the same schedule, but I think that battle in London and surviving for a week in a forest on limited supplies has balanced it out."

Garrus watched with his usual steel gaze, picking up on his friend's attitude. "He's a good soldier, he just needs to reign in his thoughts sometimes, learn from someone who's been where he's been."

Shepard raised an eyebrow as he pushed himself off from the elevator wall, knowing where Garrus was going, perceptive as always. "You think I'm trying to do for him what Anderson did for me."

"There are similarities, you know. He might not have Elysium to his credit, but Fehl Prime showed he did what he had to do to stop the Collectors."

"And he beat himself up over that on a regular basis."

"Just like someone else I know. And he also has a complete naivety to how galactic politics works..."

"Ok, ok, I get it."

As the elevator arrived in the bay, they looked around, seeing the night crew was in position, making preparations for the shuttle to pick up the crew from the new Grissom Academy.

Garrus finished surveying the area, noting the lack of a certain alliance marine. "Vega isn't asleep in his cot, more than likely in the mess hall or observation decks talking with the others." He made sure to look at his friend in the eyes, pausing for dramatic effect. "Or Ashley."

Shepard went over to the armor lockers, pulling out two standard Mantis rifles, no modifications whatsoever. He tossed one to Garrus before he raised the question, "Yeah, do you have any idea what's going on with those two?"

Checking the rifle barrel and various other details of the weapon, Garrus responded, "I think they're trying to keep it low-key. I have to say, despite having no real private quarters between them, they're doing a better job than you and Miranda did during the Collector mission."

"I think you're just saying that now because you know our deal, it makes you feel like all those years in C-Sec weren't a waste."

"Hah!" Garrus laughed hard, his mandibles opening up almost to their fullest as he placed a thermal clip into the rifle.

"You two weren't as subtle as you think you were. The lingering glances between briefings, the way you made sure she got off that collapsing Reaper first, I think the only one who didn't know was Grunt. Maybe Zaeed, because he cared more about his cigars."

Listening to the list that Garrus was presenting, Shepard narrowed his eyes as he finished checking his rifle, always making sure the barrel was aimed down. "I know what this is, you're just trying to get under my skin, make me less able to soundly defeat you. Again. For the tenth time in a row."

"Think whatever you want, Shepard. You ready?"

Shepard was holding an spherical metal object in his free hand, pushing in a few buttons before he threw it all the way down the hangar, making it bounce off the bay door before it landed on the floor, the VI flashing a countdown to virtual targets that would appear.

"Turians first."

**When it comes to the extranet and stuff, there's all these hierarchies about data flows and priority channels and connections and stuff that still might not make this be as solid of an answer that it should. It's just leading into another part of the story that has yet to develop.**

**Wreav, that's one of those classic "If you don't see it, it didn't really happen" type deaths. Except well, Shepard did die pretty convincingly...**


	17. Lost and Found

17: Lost and Found

The sounds of a thunderstorm rumbled in the distance, the sun that covered the island in its warmth was slowly being covered by the incoming clouds. Being used to the humid heat and the blistering rays meant that to have the sun be blocked, albeit momentarily, produced a shivering sensation among the group of kids.

These teens couldn't have been older than sixteen, their ragged clothes and dirty faces were commonplace in the back streets of Honolulu, the only thing that distinguished them in the unwashed sea of humanity were their tattered red shirts.

The six kids leaned against the wall of a nearby shop, half paying attention to their outdated extranet devices, the others providing a scowling look to those who walked by, doing their best to encourage others to shop somewhere else.

What made their looks of contempt carry more weight than others their age were the numerous scars that covered the teen's faces and arms, one of the group having the lower portion of his right ear cut off.

One individual had short black hair, a result of what looked like his own attempt to cut his hair with a knife, patches in the back being missed completely by his grab-and-cut style. His face was tanned and dry, the few hairs he was able to produce at his young age growing in an unkempt, haphazard manner.

Despite his awkward appearance, his head continued to rotate between the store entrance and the intersection of the street, making sure no authorities were in the area to pay even a cursory glance of protection to the run down neighborhood. Crime and corruption were rampant, but because it was on the outskirts of a major alliance port for the construction of frigates for the navy, some modicum of security needed to be implemented, if only to keep the homeless and vagrants from disrespecting the law in an open fashion. In the back alleys it didn't matter.

A muscle bound teen, seemingly in his early twenties, ran out the store with a bag full of credit chits, an alarm blared as the hologram adverts that had previously showed various cigarette and alcohol products flashed in big, bold letters: ALERT! ROBBERY!, followed by a blank silhouette that would normally contain the photo of a person's ID information.

"Run, dickheads!" The increasingly apparent leader yelled, refusing to slow down as he turned the corner into the back alley, the other members of the gang finally put mind to feet and following suit.

They ran through polluted alleys, anyone in the way was pushed to the side, either calmly or violently depending on the various members. As they made their way halfway down the alley, they saw above them red and blue lights of police hovercars, their thrusters whipping up discarded trash and waking up sleeping bums as they stirred at the commotion.

"Split up! Split up! Round and round to home!" The leader swirled his index finger in the air above him, a signal that all of the group recognized. They split up immediately, everyone taking various turns in the back alleys as they dispersed.

The unkempt teen remained at the leader's side, his fast strides keeping up with him as they banked a hard left and came into one of the main streets of the neighborhood, the various adverts flashing the same alert that were near the robbed shop.

Various pedestrians looked at the two clearly guilty red shirted teenagers as they returned to the public eye, many doing nothing but maintaining eye contact, their own lives being too important to get involved.

"Shit! just keep running to the beach, John." The leader pulled his younger ward towards the street that had at the end of it a view of the blue ocean just beyond the various cranes that littered the ports.

Making their way a few blocks west, they continued to run as the young man realized that his originally frantic pace was slowing down, his body being unable to keep up with the constant running and dodging of civilians.

"I...I...Nez I can't keep up!"

"Come on man, almost there!" The leader didn't slow down, although he looked back as he saw John trying to keep up, somehow finding a second wind, perhaps out of fear of being abandoned.

What John didn't see coming next was an angry tanned man, his bearded face screaming obscenities, having just pulled out a knife on the nearby sidewalk, his target being a sitting woman dressed in modest white garb, her eyes showing a defiant look as the man was on the verge of pushing the knife forward.

John could have easily slipped between the two arguing parties, paying no mind to what would have transpired, but something about the woman's face contained a serene look, that even though she looked upset by what was about to happen, she was content with her fate.

In that split second between drawing the knife and lunging it forward, John dropped his left shoulder at an angle, aiming himself just a few degrees more towards the bearded man, dropping him to the ground with a loud commotion, others shocked at the weapon falling out of his hand.

This tackle made John have to rotate quickly to maintain his balance, but in that moment his eyes met that of the would-be victim, the woman giving a slight smile of appreciation at what had just occurred.

Continuing their manic run to the ocean and their abandoned warehouse that the Reds called home, John and Nez turned down another street, and then another. As the two saw the ocean getting closer and closer, their view became blocked as a police hovercar finally landed fifty meters ahead of them, the two cops immediately getting out and running in their direction, pistols drawn and shouting to the nearby populace to get out of the way.

The two teens momentarily stopped, John unable to catch his breath, his shoulder still sore from the tackle that had also taken the wind out of him, yet somehow he was still able to run on what little breath he had left.

Before he could ask Nez what to do next, his friend started to run down the nearby corner, but not before pushing John to the ground towards the oncoming police.

"Sorry John, you know the saying: I bled for the Reds."

John couldn't help but try and cry out to Nez in a wordless gasp as the leader ran away into a nearby alley, the two cops not splitting up but converging on the fallen, shock-filled boy who had reached his hand out to who he thought was his friend.

"Got you, you thieving piece of shit!"

"Oh man, they are going to eat you up in jail. Aren't they, Vasquez?" The cop grabbed the boy's arms, placing them behind his back, too tired to resist or even cry.

"Oh yeah, they got nothing to do but play with the new arrivals."

As John was taken back to the shuttle, the two cops calling in the arrest, a woman's voice from behind them caused them to stop.

"Officers, stop! That young man is under my care!" The three turned around to see the woman that John had stopped from being attacked hurriedly walk towards them, her resolute face showcasing a kind but fierce look.

"Sister Janice, I don't think-"

"You heard me, Officer Yoshiro! You apprehended the wrong person, he couldn't have done whatever it is you're arresting him for, he was busy running to get some help for me."

She had finally arrived in front of the three, a slight sweat covering her forehead, her thin, wire frame containing a rather pale (for Honolulu standards) face, her blonde eyebrows and green eyes magnified by her white outfit. She looked at John with a light smile, a slight hint for him to play along. "Isn't that right, Connor?"

His head still spinning from having what he thought was a friend abandon him, and the near fate of being prison fodder, John nodded at the name, trying to say something but words still being caught in his throat.

"A rather violent man was attempting to extort money from my pantry, and Connor here was able to tackle him to the ground and run for help while the others subdued him."

Clutching the cross that adorned her chest, she tilted her head slightly. "You officers don't really think **I** of all people would pull your leg about this, would you?"

Shaking their heads rapidly and not wanting to antagonize someone who seemed to know them very well, they unshackled John and allowed him to walk towards the Sister, her face smiling warmly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. While he was only fifteen, he was already a few centimeters taller than her.

"If you kind officers would follow me to my pantry, I believe there is someone there who would be better suited for some righteous justice." Her face seemed to easily switch from a serious to happy look as though there was no problem just a few minutes ago.

As the officers headed back to their hovercar to head over to Sister Janice's pantry, the woman looked at the boy in front of her with a stern but slightly amused look.

"I take it that other boy was the one who robbed the store?"

John nodded, never taking his eyes away from her, "Yes, ma'am."

"He can speak, what a glorious day!" Her overreaction and outstretched arms couldn't help but break the ice between the two, John giving an immediate smile as he realized he escaped arrest.

"I'm sorry I called you Connor, but you look like a Connor. What's your name?"

"John."

"Do you have a last name?"

"My first care worker said it's Shepard. I don't really know if that's true or not."

"I see, you never knew your parents."

It was common to come across these types of orphans in major military cities, especially a place so crucial to the alliance. Soldiers on shore leave, construction workers on pay-day, and all the vices that that entailed led to many infants being left to the care of the state.

Eyeing the scraggly teen up and down, Sister Janice smiled. "You do look like a John Shepard. Would you like to come help me make dinner for the younger children at the orphanage? There's always an extra plate for someone as brave as you."

John didn't know how to respond to this kindness, he never really experienced it before without some ulterior motive rearing its head. But something about it felt right, that this is how people should interact with one another.

As the thunder grew around them, rain started to pour down, Sister Janice stood waiting for a response before she moved. Seeing the warmth in her eyes, John nodded his head. "I would really like to help out, if I could."

"Of course, we could always use the help." Sticking her hand out, she continued. "I know you heard earlier, but I just want to introduce myself formally; my name is Sister Janice."

John shook her hand, smiling as he repeated his name himself. "John Shepard."

"Now that that's settled, John Shepard, Citadel ETA 30 minutes, Captain."

* * *

"Citadel ETA 30 minutes, Captain."

Joker's reminder sounded through Shepard's cabin as he stirred awake from his nap. He yawned as he realized that Miranda had also taken the opportunity to catch a few hours of sleep herself, not being here when he initially arrived back in his cabin after talking with Liara and the others.

Hearing the same announcement that he did, she rustled her face from Shepard's chest and rolled over, a slight moan gracing her lips. He was still amazed at her ability to sneak up on or away from him.

Rolling on his side he placed his arm around her, kissing just below her ear. "Surprised to see you slacking off from your duties too, Miss Lawson."

A smile crossed her face as he felt her shiver a bit with his whisper. "Better to nap than take a stim pack. All these years and the shuttle lag still gets to me."

"Same here." Shepard rolled off the other side of the bed, Miranda doing the same from her side.

The two were still dressed in their alliance standard regs, meeting each other at the end of the bed to check their appearances, their hands freely roaming across the other under the guise of making themselves more presentable. The intent was clear with their hands, but willpower prevailed as the two headed down to the CIC.

Leaning her head on his shoulder as they waited momentarily in the elevator, Miranda commented, "I can't say I'm surprised Jacob decided to stay at Grissom."

"Me either, thinking about how he kept helping out those war orphans when he would visit the Citadel, he's clearly focused on being a father now."

Jack had stayed at Grissom with her students, promising to check-in and maybe help out once Kahlee Sanders and other teachers arrived. Jacob and Brynn chose to stay and help out for the time being, Jacob using the flimsy excuse of needing to help provide security for the station should it be attacked by pirates or any rogue individuals.

_"You don't need to have any excuses lined up, Jacob. I think it's admirable to want to help the students."_

_"It sounds better in my head if I give it that justification, Captain. Plus I want to make sure Brynn is waited on hand and foot in the upcoming months, give her mind and body a break."_

_Shepard extended his hand, Jacob shaking and pulling his friend in for a hug as the two parted, knowing they would see each other in the future. _

_"Don't forget, Captain, I need you to help me with that proposal."_

_"Just tell me a day and time, Taylor, you'll get your wish."_

As the elevator opened up to the CIC, the two looked around as the crew got ready for the upcoming docking. Shepard wondered how much better the Citadel would look after being gone for nearly a week, hoping the Presidium would no longer be a place of refuge and back to its iconic look as the heart of galactic civilization.

Miranda saw Oriana furiously typing away at a station next to Traynor, the two lightly giggling about something. This perked the older sister's interest and headed over to talk to the pair as Shepard checked his terminal for any incoming messages.

Some minor requisition orders from Ken and Gabby, various toiletry requests since the Grissom students took a large portion of the supplies, and Liara's archived report about Santelli's time aboard the Cerberus Station. In all, nothing as urgent as Wrex's revelation twelve hours prior.

Shepard made his way to the cockpit, surprised to see Garrus up there talking with Joker. The two had kept their distance over the past few days, but it seemed that was now an afterthought.

"Hey Captain. Don't worry about us, we're good now. I apologized for my drunken self." Joker turned his chair to look Shepard in the face, Garrus doing the same.

"That's good to hear, I didn't want to be stuck having to choose a parent."

"I've had my fair share of heartache and ramblings, I know where Jeff was coming from, but in my defense I thought I was doing a good impression of you."

The Captain smirked at that line. "Which means it wasn't."

Joker couldn't help but laugh as he turned back around to make sure the jump into the Sol System went smoothly.

"Patch me into the intercom, Jeff. Time to brief the crew."

"Got it, boss."

Shepard cleared his voice before he began. "This is your Captain speaking. We will be arriving at the Citadel in about twenty minutes. This will be a rapid turnaround before we head off to Tuchanka, so you have eight hours shore leave. I still extend the option for any crewmember to leave this ship, no questions asked. Make sure all requisitions have been forwarded to myself or XO Lawson or you'll just have to wait. That is all."

"I do hope they alliance did what they could to clear the debris from around Earth," Joker commented as he prepared to pull the ship out of blueshift, "maybe the quarians just used a big magnet to take in all the wreckage."

Using that quick jab as an opening, Shepard expounded on the quarian subject. "Whatever takes Xen's mind off that adjutant data, if she's able to get it..."

"Leave that to Tali, Shepard," Garrus said, his eyes occupied with some diagnostics of the ship. "She's been working on a program with Kasumi to help dump phony data into the file, if they can't delete they sure can fill it with such phony processes that anyone would have to start from scratch."

"Exiting blueshift, stand by." Joker commented into the intercom, Shepard bracing for the momentary shift while the two allowed themselves to sink into their seats.

As they arrived just outside of Pluto the Normandy gracefully danced towards Earth, the trio watching as Joker smoothly flew right outside the orbit of the planets. "Please note the beauty of the Sol System as we pass by, observation decks are available for your viewing pleasure."

Oriana came running up to the cockpit at Joker's announcement, having never had the time or opportunity to see the beauty of Earth's system without having to deal with other, more life pressing matters. While Neptune was out of the way, Joker made sure to move as close as he could to Uranus, the faint vertical rings being visible at such a distance.

Feeling a hand join his, Shepard smiled as he saw Miranda stand next to him, taking in the view as well. There was no doubt she saw this all before, but seeing how Oriana's face took in all the sights was what she was more interested in. Lifting their joined hands up over her head to place his hand around her waist, they watched as Joker moved through the asteroid belt, shooting a few stray asteroids with the Gardian lasers, not out of any real need other than to give his crew a show.

"Citadel and alliance have us pinged," Garrus mentioned to the pilot, a quick shift of a screen and a tap of the controls ushered in a confirmation for docking as the Normandy passed a few alliance cruisers in the area.

"They might think this is crazy in those other ships, but watch this."

Joker effortlessly made the Normandy's port thrusters dip on power, no one on the frigate being able to notice unless they were looking at the space outside. While those on the observation decks missed out on the view, what the cockpit saw as they turned seamlessly was the Sun and a lone small spec passing around the orange hue. The ship moved closer, enlarging the black dot ever so slightly as it moved across the background.

"Mercury. Amazing..." Oriana said as she rested her arms on Joker's headrest, enjoying the view.

"I could hit that target from here."

"You just had to go and spoil the moment, Garrus."

Joker slowly steered the Normandy towards the Citadel, as the gathered crew saw remains of that fateful battle still littering space. It wasn't as bad as when the Normandy initially departed, but not as clean a pathway that Shepard had thought would be waiting for them.

The one arm of the Citadel was still held in place, although this time it seemed to contain purely alliance forces, the lone volus dreadnaught being the exception.

"I guess this means the quarians have left for Rannoch," Miranda commented.

"I thought they would have stayed until the Citadel moved back, or they got a council seat."

"I agree with the Captain, maybe they got what they wanted already." Joker added as he slowed the Normandy down and entered the standard docking procedures that he had done so many times before.

Whatever was happening seemed to be put in motion thanks to the Citadel being nearly operational. Despite the arm still being repaired, as the Normandy headed to the usual dock of D-24 the viewers in the cockpit saw that power appeared to be restored to all the other wards, skyscrapers still growing out from the arms, a decent amount of traffic being apparent with ships coming and going from all species.

As Joker manually docked into place, the crew moved towards the airlock, waiting for the firm suction and equalization of pressure to arrive.

Oriana couldn't help but smile at what she saw. "It's so weird getting to watch the planets in relative peace, when we're all just moving back and forth as fast as we can, paying no mind to everything. Despite the Citadel being so advanced, it just seems so...archaic and dull compared to seeing what's out there, you know?"

Miranda smiled at her sister's inquisitive thoughts, glad that she hasn't had to think about simply surviving like she had to for all these years. "If only the galaxy could take a note from your view on things, Ori."

"Oriana Lawson, Human Councilor." Oriana ran her hand in front of her as if to show a giant banner proclaiming her thought.

"You know, I have no objection to that." Shepard said as the airlock finally opened.

* * *

Returning to Silversun, Shepard and Miranda were amazed by the progress. Leaving Oriana in the company of Kasumi and Liara as they went to the commons, the two officers attempted to make sure they had a few moments of downtime before others in their crew would arrive at the apartment.

The shattered glass of the buildings had been replaced, neon lights were in abundance everywhere, cars were whizzing by and people were back on the streets. It looked as though Armax Arena and Gold Coast were still closed, but it only seemed a matter of time before they reopened. For a place that was the last to truly see the effects of the war, they appeared to be the first to have it removed from their memory.

"This is good to see," Shepard said as he and Miranda exited the hovercab to return to Tiberius Towers. Stepping out first to allow himself to lift her gracefully to her feet, Shepard watched as a few people gathered at his arrival, providing him room to navigate the strip without a concern for safety, a few onlookers simply wanting to shake the man's hand, which he gladly complied with as Miranda attempted to move forward, always keeping an eye on the crowd should anyone attempt anything brash or unexpected.

Wearing her new standard alliance regs allowed her for greater mobility, her beauty still apparent but not as on display as it was during her catsuit days. To the people on the strip, they would just assume she was a regular (albeit beautiful) member of his ship, a personal assistant tasked with helping Earth's hero.

Doing his best to make the short distance to the apartment entrance in a manner that was both courteous yet aware of the short shore leave, the two moved through the people, finding more inside the apartment entrance proper. The murmurings and talk of the various species seemed to magnify inside the hallway, causing a few C-Sec guards to arrive to disperse the crowd.

"Captain Shepard, sir, please make your way to your quarters, we'll make sure no one disturbs you." The two guards moved to meet the two humans in the hall, placing themselves between the crowd, everyone realizing it would make no sense to push back now that police had arrived.

Giving a nod of thanks the two continued to the elevator, taking notice that while the previous furniture showroom still had no glass partition or new showcases on display, the area was immaculate, simply waiting for the next decoration.

Arriving at his apartment, Shepard saw that two alliance soldiers guarded his door, their Predator pistols holstered as they stood at attention when the Captain arrived in front of them, Shepard immediately saluting the two.

"At ease, gentlemen."

"I didn't expect you to have your own private guard, Captain." Miranda commented. As she finished speaking Shepard couldn't help but watch as the two caught quick glances at her figure, still doing their best to stare straight ahead.

Looking at the black soldier to his left, Shepard asked him a question. "How long have you two been waiting here, soldier?"

"We were assigned to your residence thirty minutes ago, Captain Shepard. Admiral Hackett's orders."

"At least you haven't been standing here for the past week."

"Our orders were to make sure you were given proper space from any unwanted civilian contact. Your residence has been cleared of any lingering debris and resupplied. Welcome home, sir."

"I don't suppose I can ask you to stand down."

"Negative, sir. Our orders were to stand guard for the next eight hours."

"Understood. If anyone outside of my crew attempts entry, let us know."

The soldiers saluted again as Shepard did the same, entering the apartment with Miranda.

It was still a weird feeling, being the Captain of the Normandy yet also having access to such an extravagant apartment. During the war it could be chalked up to Anderson giving a direct order, but now it seemed so...awkward. He felt a brief punch of guilt at having two guards waiting outside, knowing without a doubt they could be better used somewhere else on the Citadel, or back on Earth.

Sensing his guilt, Miranda quietly said to him "Hackett's orders, John. Don't think about it too much, let it be. You saw the crowd that built up outside, it makes sense."

"We can handle ourselves, Miri. And I've got a crew who can stand guard anytime I ask."

Shepard made his way through the now immaculate apartment towards the bar, not a thing out of place. As he turned on the telescreen in the viewing area, watching various news feeds broadcasting round the clock coverage of various homeworlds rebuilding, he made his way behind the bar.

"A drink, Miri?" He shouted out, seeing her blue suit pass by the hall in the corner of his eye.

"Of course. Something to snack on would be nice, too."

While the apartment was cleaned, the previous variety of liquors was not restocked. Understandable, of course, but it limited his options for Miranda. He knew she preferred asari wine, a distinct chardonnay variety, yet his selection seemed to be basic human liquors at the moment.

Biting the bullet, he decide to make a simple gin and tonic. If it worked he was a thoughtful lover, if Miranda objected he could fall back on a variety of excuses. Now, on to the kitchen, to see what the alliance had procured that it deemed "snackworthy"...

While the drink was being prepared, Miranda had made her way to their bedroom, looking for herself just how thorough the alliance had been in refurbishing the apartment.

More to the point, she made a quick search of the room, wondering if any listening devices or cameras had been installed. Despite her position as XO (that only the Normandy crew was aware of) and trusting John and by extension the crew, her faith in the alliance was spotty at best. Even now she couldn't help but think that admirals or generals who were looking to increase their own power in the aftermath of the war would try and neuter the man whose clout was currently the highest in the history of humanity.

Finding no bugs, Miranda checked under the mattress to make sure her Hornet was still there. It was, but next to it contained a small data pad, nearly a third the size of the galaxy standard devices. Immediately Miranda reached for it, but when her hand made contact with the device a green flash showed up on screen, verifying that it was Miranda.

"Fingerprint verified. Hello, Miranda Lawson." In a panic at the loud sound Miranda reverted to her old, walled off self, doing what she could to diminish the volume and avoid any attention. This device was able to be placed under the bed of the man she loves, a man who was instrumental in keeping galactic peace, this invasion of privacy immediately drew her quiet ire.

"Greeting, Operative Lawson." It was the voice and face of Mordin Solus, the brilliant and brilliantly mad salarian scientist that was a key member of their Collector mission, and also the being responsible for curing the genophage.

"If you are in possession of this, then I must apologize, I am simply not alive to deliver this information to you personally. Such a shame, enjoyed our talks with Dr. Chakwas during Normandy downtime, ideas constantly being thrown around." Even in a prerecorded speech the alien maintained his tendency to ramble.

"Shepard must have told you about my efforts to cure the genophage, rally krogan support for war with Reapers. Fascinating, data we recovered from Tuchanka nearly nine months prior crucial in providing cure, I hope you have a chance to look at my research that I have included here."

On the screen Mordin placed his hand on his lips, looking distant and away from the camera. "Wanted to let you know that I greatly respect you and Shepard. Humans obviously have different mating patterns than salarians but your genetic traits are perfect to carry forward. Also know of your benign neoplasm-"

Miranda immediately paused the recording, her pupils shrinking and her heart dropping as she heard those two words: benign neoplasm. It was a byproduct of her father's tailored genetics, something that rendered her unable to conceive a child. Given time she would have been able to rectify the situation, but there was just no time to place towards that goal in the past eighteen months.

Unable to lash out at the salarian in person, and not wanting to draw attention to herself by alerting John, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, doing her best to push down the tears of anger and humility she felt as it sank in that someone _else_ knew one of her closest secrets. Shepard knew, but he repeatedly assured her that it didn't matter to him, that she was still perfect in his eyes.

Resuming the recording, Mordin continued to speak, "-and wanted to let you know I was able to verify some studies while working with female krogan. Apologize for knowing of your inability to conceive child, old STG habit, able to access information while vetting Cerberus personnel when first arriving on Normandy. Donnelly prone to severe male pattern baldness, perhaps key reason for his aggressive mating advances..."

Clearing his throat as if to show that he caught himself from rambling on, the scientist continued, "Forgive me, back to point: humans clearly different than krogan, much weaker and more diverse genetically, but able to use key areas of research data and biotic advancements to align with fixing infertility in conjunction with proper surgery data, have attached that as well."

Switching from seething anger to shock in such a quick matter of time literally made Miranda buckle at the knees with what she just heard. Head and emotions all over the place, being unable to distance the personal information, she sat down at the foot of the bed, both hands clutching the datapad, a faint feeling of perspiration coming from her fingers.

"Originally planned to give this information to Shepard with my other thoughts and songs, chose instead to leave it to your discretion. Farewell, Miss Lawson, I hope you and Shepard find much happiness together. It was always a pleasure to work aboard the Normandy."

With that the recording stopped, various charts of the human body appearing. Miranda was doing her best to fight back the tears, not wanting to let John know about this truly remarkable gift she was given.

She needed time to process the information, work out a timetable for removing the neoplasm before she told him anything, deeply wanting it to be a surprise.

"I think I have something appetizing here, Miri, some chicken salad spread on crackers grown from bona fide Eden Prime grain," Shepard's announcement as he made his way up the stares was a blessing in disguise, giving her the few moments she needed to place the datapad back under the mattress and try and compose herself to the best of her ability.

As Shepard finally arrived at the entrance to the bedroom, he saw that Miranda had arrived from the bathroom, gently brushing her hair. As she smiled at him he wondered if it was just his imagination or if there was some added luminescence to her face, something he swore he hadn't seen before.

"A gin and tonic for my lady," he extended his left hand, the two glasses being balanced on his palm while his fingers supported the beverages, Miranda graciously plucking one of them up as she threw her brush onto the bed.

Taking a sip, her eyes and smile didn't leave her face. His body now close to hers, Shepard saw the faintest of water at the corner of Miranda's eyes. Placing the plate of appetizers on the bed, he wrapped his hand around her, reaching the small of her back and pulling her in closer.

"Miri, what's wrong?" His concern was absolutely genuine, as only the most extreme cases gave Miranda cause for tears.

Doing her best to hide her latest discovery, she continued to smile as she pulled him in close for a soft, deep kiss, her body trying to assuage his apprehension in a much more intimate way. "It's nothing, John. Just...seeing this place back to normal, it kind of reminded me of seeing you weeks ago, bruised and bloodied, but alive. And then seeing you up and about a week ago..."

She rested her head into his chest, the swell of emotions that had surfaced were unable to be hidden by her face any longer, Shepard being too perceptive had she kept her face visible "...it just finally hit me that things are going to get even better. Congratulations John, you're optimism is truly infectious."

Lightly chuckling as used his free hand to stroke her hair, Shepard kissed the top of her black locks, allowing the two to stand in the moment, the sound of the viewing rooms telescreen being faintly heard in the background.

Feeling that she had composed herself enough, Miranda removed herself from his shoulder and used her biotics to bring the plate of food to her hand. Taking one more sip, still maintaining her enhanced smile, she rocked her hips seductively as she left the room and headed downstairs.

"Shall we enjoy this meal by the fire, John?"

He quickly followed suit. "Whatever makes you happy, Miri."

She couldn't help but think about those words as she walked down. _I'm happier than I've ever been._

**Earthborn's origin is supposed to be in a major earth city, so I chose Honolulu because it seemed like it would be a good choice for shipbuilding in the future and allow a greater concentration of population and that mixture of rich and poor. In terms of the Alliance you're right between the American and Asian suppliers, it would already have existing military strength, and all that open ocean instead of crowded cities to test ships.**


	18. Broken Walls

18: Broken Walls

As the fire roared in front of them, Shepard and Miranda sat in quiet intimacy on the couch. They were lost in that realm between awake and sleep, eyes open but focusing on nothing but the orange flames, her head resting on his lap as one of his hands lightly massaged her stomach, the other hand resting gently on her thick black hair.

In the background the faint noise of the telescreen could be heard, round the clock coverage of the rebuilding effort being all that was discussed. This time, if they paid attention, the two could hear about the reports of how Ilium is nearly back to normal operations, the planet's wealthy aligning all their resources into repelling Reaper ground forces for the past few months.

What finally made the two awake from their stupor was the sound of the door opening, the sounds of multiple pairs of footsteps walking in. Shepard turned his head slightly to see that a few of his squad had arrived for some downtime.

Miranda hadn't lifted her head, meaning she had finally given in to sleep, in part due to the alcohol as well as the safety she felt in the apartment and Shepard's arms. It was a new feeling for both of them, finding security outside of the hum of the Normandy.

Shepard leaned down, whispering softly into Miranda's ear, "Miri, we have company."

The woman's eyes opened as she immediately took in her surroundings, lifting her head and realizing that more than half the squad had arrived, her face slightly blushing at the embarrassment. She regained her composure quickly, landing on her feet and trying to place her face somewhere between serious and casual.

James simply waved his hands at the sight and moved towards the re-hung punching bag with Grunt in tow, but the sight of an asari justicar clad in her skintight red armor is what drew Shepard's attention.

Samara nodded with a slight smile, Shepard immediately making his way to her, glad to see that a loyal friend was able to make it through the fighting without any damage.

"Samara, it's a pleasure to see you again," the two women shook the others hands gracefully, whereas Shepard shook her hand with a force that was unable to contain his happiness. If he could get away with lifting her up the way Grunt had met him, he would have.

"It really is great to see you again, Samara. Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Captain. I must say I'm impressed by your resiliency, my fellow justicars and I were near the beam when that Reaper landed, many met the warm embrace of the goddess that day."

"I know, it was...it was the toughest thing I ever had to do." Shepard's voice trailed off, not wanting to remember the events of that day.

Surprisingly, since he was hit by Harbinger's beam, it had been something that was pushed out his mind for the longest time. When he slept, he dreamt of either nothing or his past, to a time before he enlisted in the marines. He hadn't told anyone about this, wondering if anyone would even believe him, his lack of sleep and nightmares he encountered during the war were a constant conversation point between himself and Liara.

Liara interjected with a smile, hoping to change the subject, "Kasumi ran into her in the docks, making sure refugees were treated fairly and not preyed upon by any gangs."

"I apologize for not contacting you sooner, Captain, I was doing what I could to help in London, helping search for survivors in the wreckage. Our shuttle arrived on the Citadel a few hours after you had departed."

"Don't apologize, Samara, you were doing the right thing, and I thank you for helping in London."

Miranda added, "The Normandy is planning to head out in a few hours to Tuchanka, to help Urdnot Wrex, you're more than welcome to join."

Samara offered a slight nod and smile at the offer. "I will gladly accept the offer, Miranda. Despite our few interactions, I believe Urdnot Wrex to be an honorable krogan, one who wants to do right by the galaxy."

She placed her hand on Shepard's arm, a comforting warmth appearing on her face, "and if you speak highly of him, who am I to judge?"

"You can trust me on this, Samara, no need for subsumation this time."

"Of course, Captain. With you it seems unnecessary."

"Samara, if you would," Miranda stepped forward to direct Samara to the kitchen, looking to offer her something to drink, hoping to speak to the justicar in private. Oriana couldn't help but follow her sister, having never met a justicar before, always fascinated by their code.

Shepard smiled as he turned his attention to Liara, the other asari shaking her head at his expression, a smile of her face as well. "It looks like you got your wish, Shepard, all your surviving crew accounted for."

"You know me, Mr. Sentimental."

"Uh huh. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to check up on some of my agent's reports in the study."

There had been a quiet, but noticeable distance between the two since she was asked to stay at the Cerberus station to collect data, and this action seemed to be only increasing that distance.

As she walked by, Shepard called out to her in his stern, authoritative voice. "Liara."

The asari turned around, a confused expression on her face.

Getting her attention, he softened his follow up. "I've probably said it countless times, but thank you. Really. For being there for me, for everyone else. You're a good friend and a good leader, even if you don't want to admit that last part."

Liara's eyes looked Shepard up and down, her blue eyes having a watery sheen to them, just on the verge of welling up. She was able to maintain her composure though, returning a genuine smile that showed her appreciation at the words.

"Thank you, John."

"Nothing's changed between us, Liara. Nothing. If you need to talk, you always know where to find me."

With that, Shepard made his way around the apartment, checking in on those who had decided to rest for the few remaining hours of shore leave that was available.

* * *

"It is good to see that many of the Normandy were able to survive that fateful battle, even more that they chose to come back and help Shepard," Samara said as she indulged in her cup of tea, her lips smacking in approval at the taste.

Across from the kitchen island, Miranda sat and nodded her head. "It's nice to see, and I'm glad to be a part of it this time. Jacob and Jack are on the ground floor of rebuilding Grisson Academy."

"I always knew there was a warmth inside Jack, yet she hid it away for so long."

"I would never say it to her face, but she certainly was a good squad mate."

"She actually said the same thing about you when I spoke with her on the Normandy," Oriana chimed in as she raised an eyebrow, sitting next to the justicar in somewhat awe of her beauty and calm demeanor.

Miranda's eyes widened a bit at that revelation, but quickly suppressed the information.

"I must say, Miranda, I find your sister here to be full of life and energy. I can see why you watched over her." She turned to the younger sister, smiling as she took another sip of tea. "And I enjoy the tea you have made, Oriana."

"I learned a little trick from Dr. Chakwas, plus there's not much else you can do aboard the Normandy when you can't shoot or pilot anything."

Placing the cup down, Samara gently turned her face to stare at Miranda's sister. "Oriana, let me impart centuries of wisdom to you; being able to master a weapon that can harm another being is not something that should always be seen as noble. In many ways it is a curse, a knowledge that you can put an end to something the goddess created. Be thankful your sister chose to carry this burden for you."

The younger Lawson took those words in deeply, a bit humbled by what she just heard. Miranda was as well, a slight sense of adoration coming through her eyes; she had always respected Samara, feeling that they were similar in many ways, driven and dedicated to their own codes in life, but times like this made her feel like she still had so much to learn.

Taking her eyes from Oriana, Samara turned them to Miranda. "I am very happy to see that you and Shepard have remained together. You both bring out the best in one another."

Taken aback by this rather open comment, Miranda had to look away for a moment to regain her composure. Returning to look at Samara, who had a slight smirk to her lips, she did her best to downplay the compliment, not used to talking about her personal situation. "Yes, well, John and I care for each other very much."

"You can use the "L" word, 'Randa."

Miranda gave her sister a quick dirty look, scrunching her face a bit to show a playful side that rarely surfaced.

Much to Miranda's surprise (and relief), a loud thud was heard inside the apartment, although no sound of broken glass or screaming followed. What could be heard, however, was the sound of Vega laughing uproariously in the downstairs bedroom.

The three women made their way to the bedroom, seeing the Lieutenant holding his self up against a wall as he continued to laugh, Kasumi sitting on the bed with her hands on her stomach, laughing but unable to make a sound, near delirious at the sight.

On the ground was Grunt, a shocked look on his face, his hands still clutching the pull-up bar that was bolted to the doorway. Shepard did his best to hide his grin as he offered to help up the young krogan, having to use both hands to help pull him up with considerable effort, Grunt still holding onto the bar as Shepard used it to makes his task easier.

"Oh my God, Kasumi, tell me you got that on video!" Vega's eyes were watering up, finally stopping from laughing himself sick. She shook her head repeatedly in the affirmative.

As Shepard finally got the krogan up, he patted him on the shoulder. "You did good, Grunt, I just think we need to find something that can support krogan weight before you try and break any records."

Keeping his head low, Grunt quietly muttered some obscenities under his breath before he walked out of the room with the bar still in his hand, more than likely heading to the bar for a drink to wash away the embarrassment. Or a wall to find a new home for the bar that caused him such ridicule.

Now that Grunt had left, Shepard let out a good chuckle before he turned to Kasumi. "I trust you'll be careful with that video?"

"Of course, Shep, we can't have this affect the little guy."

* * *

Shore leave had ended, the crew had returned to the ship. As the Normandy pulled away for the relatively short trip to Tuchanka, everyone returned to their usual routines. Samara chose to take up her quarters on the port observation deck, Ashley having moved to the life support room since the Grissom students had departed.

Shepard was down in the shuttle bay, making sure Cortez was able to finish the changes to his armor now that the ship was resupplied and all requisitions had been fulfilled. Thanks to his modules and the skills of Dr. Chakwas, his arm felt as good as new, the medigel helping to minimize the scar on his inner arm.

"I got this, Captain, your armor will be ready to go an hour before we reach Tuchanka."

"Thanks Steve, I know this is going to cut into your sleep but it will make all the difference."

"A little R&R catching up with some pilot friends on the Citadel more than made up for it, Captain. Trust me on this, I've had to work in tougher timeframes before." Joker had given the ETA of six hours, which meant they would arrive just before morning Normandy time.

Patting his shuttle pilot on the back, he headed for the elevator, looking to make sure he was able to get in at least the four hour minimum sleep that marines were conditioned on. Right as he arrived the door opened to find a stunned Ashley Williams looking to step into the bay, immediately bringing her foot back when she saw who was in front of her.

"Oh, uh, hey, Skipper." Her eyes constantly shifted between Shepard and the background behind him.

"Ash." Shepard turned his head to wonder if Vega was paying attention to the situation, not seeing the marine in his line of sight.

As he turned his head back he gave Williams a dry smirk, letting it say all that needed to be said.

"You haven't caught me yet." Ashley replied, a deadly, but exaggerated serious look across her face.

"Oh? I was just looking to see if Steve needed any help, I thought he said something. Isn't that why you're down here?"

If Ashley could get away with hitting her Captain's shoulder, _hard_, she would do it, but her discipline prevailed. She simply gave him a cold stare.

Raising up his hands lightly in mock surrender, Shepard gave in "Look, I trust you guys to keep it professional, I'm not going to be running to the alliance to rat you out."

"Gee, thanks, Captain. That would have been mighty hypocritical of you otherwise." The sharp comeback surprised Shepard, taking it in the manner that was intended.

Pointing at his Lieutenant Commander as the two switched positions from elevator to bay, he calmly replied "Friendly fire, LC, that's something I didn't expect from you."

Smiling she gave a full salute as the elevator doors closed, Shepard returning the gesture, even if it was in jest. It was good to see that the two were able to put aside any potential hostilities as they still worked together, both moving on but still being able to be friends. _Fighting for your life together had a way to iron out a lot of problems._

Arriving at his cabin, he saw that Miranda had already found her way into bed, taking her usual spot on the right. With the lights dimmed he removed his clothes quietly, placing them in his locker in a more organized fashion than he had treated his belongings in recent days.

He crawled slowly into bed, lightly wrapping his arm around her as he placed himself behind her body, enjoying that sensation of their skin connecting, at first slightly cool, but gradually their bodies melding together.

Sighing happily, Miranda whispered slightly, "Wondered when you'd show up."

"You know I can't resist being near you." His hand slowly rubbed her stomach, wandering down before a delicate hand halted his advances.

"Rest, John. You need rest, and we don't have the time."

Shepard gave an exaggerated harrumph as he pulled Miranda closer, nuzzling her neck. "We'll just have to make it up tomorrow."

"Of course. **If** you survive."

"You've never fought alongside Wrex; think of how bulletproof Grunt is, only doubled, and more shrewd with his tactics."

"Sounds like a fun time for everyone involved."

"Things have changed on Tuchanka since the last time you were there. The krogan are right on that tip of the mountain between rolling back into their old ways or moving forward and enjoying a renaissance."

"The thought of having billions of them in the galaxy now doesn't worry you?"

"Not as long as Wrex and Bakara are there to guide them on the right path. That's why it's so important to squash this conflict before it really does escalate into a civil war, clear out those who want to fight simply to fight."

Not being able to resist, he added one last line, "Why, it's almost like krogan are fighting to be the XO here..."

Shepard felt a biotic sting hit his leg, causing it to kick up a bit in reflex, lightly knocking the back of Miranda's leg, which in turn caused her to fire another small blast at his leg yet again.

"Hey, come on now, that was your own fault."

"Ass."

With that common word being uttered the two lightly kissed before they finally fell asleep for the night.

* * *

"Shields are at 45%!"

Miranda heard the alliance officer near her yell out those words as the _Fuji_ banked hard as it attempted to repel Reaper forces from attacking the now-docked Crucible.

For a dreadnought of that size to take such an evasive maneuver it could only mean the threat being faced was certain death, or that it was attempting to protect Hackett's very own dreadnought, the _Kilimanjaro_.

Despite having her own experience operating a frigate, Miranda was unable to do anything at the moment but cross her arms and watch the various fleet intel at the center of the room, from her periphery looking at the various alliance officers who scrambled back and forth at the CIC, following the orders that Rear Admiral Alani constantly barked out.

He was an old man, not unlike Admiral Hackett, his clean shaven features extending a certain rock like quality to his face. Records indicate he fought at Shanxi under then Admiral Drescher. From the short time she knew him, he expressed no outward sense of humor, yet also knew when to let off from his crew, something that reminded her of John.

_John, please..._

Miranda had done her best to block out the thoughts of Shepard being on London, and now apparently one of two people who made it to the Citadel. Her heart had nearly collapsed, along with herself, when it was reported that HAMMER was wiped out. When the Citadel arms opened and Hackett ordered the escort to commence, a renewed faith overwhelmed her, a feeling she had only felt when she reached to pull Shepard into the Normandy as Joker flew as fast as he could from the Collector Base.

Kasumi stood next to Miranda, doing what she could at the terminal to help maintain various cyberwarfare suites, her own small way of helping out at the moment. Oriana looked on frightened, her eyes watching as more and more alliance vessels disappeared off the map, only one or two reaper ships falling away in that time.

These three really weren't supposed to be in the CIC at the time, but a request on behalf of Admrial Hackett made sure they were given proper authority to help with the Crucible, and Admiral Alani understood their connection to Commander Shepard; if Hackett and Shepard vouched for them, there was no need for suspicion. Even still, seeing a thief, an ex-Cerberus operative, and her younger sister in such close vicinity to the Rear Admiral drew them more looks than normal among the officers on deck.

A loud rumble occurred as the ship listed slightly, causing everyone in the CIC to have to regain their footing.

"What was that?" Oriana's face was full of worry.

"We were hit hard on the starboard side, probably from a damn reaper's eye." Miranda did her best to remain calm and collected during the situation, if anything for her sister's sake, but it took something truly powerful to do that to a dreadnought.

"Cannons 120-156 are offline!" Someone shouted out.

"Starboard thruster four is offline!" came the cry from another.

"Dammit, shut down Gardian defenses and reroute their power to the shields, see if we can pull some of the enemy away from the Citadel. Target all guns on enemies 20 and 30!" Alani barked, highlighting the reapers in question from his dais, the information being sent to his staff.

Kasumi didn't look up as her hands moved faster with each second, clearly trying to ward off an attempt by enemy forces from breaching the dreadnought's firewalls after that attack.

The force of the cannons firing in unison gave hope to the crew as they saw multiple hits connect, doing exactly what Alani had wanted them to do. The damage to the two reapers stunned them momentarily from attacking the _SSV Oppenheimer_, a carrier that was attempting to retreat to a safe distance as the reapers engaged the Crucible escorts.

The two reapers turned their attention to the _Fuji_, curling up what remaining arms they had left and looking to ram the dreadnought out of existence.

"Collision imminent! All hands brace for impact!" Alani yelled, his deep voice refusing to crack given the gravity of the situation.

Oriana was in near tears at this point, both hands grasping Miranda's arm as tightly as she could. " 'Randa..."

"It's alright, Ori."

Miranda looked at her with eyes that attempted to give hope, but in the end showed a sign of accepting their fate. She lightly brushed hair from her sister's eye, noting that she had succumbed to panic sweats that underscored just how frightened Oriana was. Kasumi denied herself the feeling of loss, still typing away even though her eyes showed a fear that Miranda had never before seen on her face.

In that time, however, a bright blue blast could be seen near the cockpit, the windows that showed the battle raging outside being replaced by a large blue beam fired from the main cannon Destiny Ascension, critically damaging one of the reapers, the other losing it's remaining arms as a fleet of asari cruiser arrived to support the Crucible escorts.

"Reaper 30 destroyed, reaper 20 currently being attacked by asari fleet." The announcement brought claps from various members of the ship, relieved they would be allowed to live, if only for another few moments.

That was all the time that was needed. Admiral Hackett's voice came in over the comm channels.

"All ships, the crucible is primed for firing, evacuate to the designated rendezvous point."

_John...you did it..._

Miranda's face was in shock, not truly believing what she had heard. It was such a surprise that she had momentarily stopped drawing breath. After all this time of fighting, of being on the run, nearly dying on Horizon, she expected something worse to come from this. It only seemed right in the grand scheme of things.

Admiral Alani saw on screen that a red aura was building from the Citadel, a large red wave slowly pulling away from the heart of the galaxy and rippling across space. The various allied vessels that could had already accessed FTL and headed out of the system. Many vessels, like the Fuji, were damaged and unable to safely evacuate.

One final bark was all that he could offer. "All available power to shields!"

The crew did as they were told, those who could watched as the red wave arrived over Earth and headed towards them, various explosions being seen both outside and accompanied with blips on the war map disappearing off the screen. To the relief of many, they saw that the damaged allied ships still remained on screen, while reaper destroyers of all size were falling off the map, orange explosions reaching the _Fuji_ more and more.

As the red wave washed over the dreadnought it passed inside the ship as well, some of the soldiers and officers attempting to run away as the wave came close, but ultimately being passed with no harm done to them or the ship.

A moment of eerie silence fell across the ship as people didn't know how to react, the various alarms and alerts of the terminals being the only thing to offer any noise.

Confused, many looked to Admiral Alani for any sense of guidance, the man being unable to offer any advice on what had just transpired.

"Mayhew, are there any reapers in the area?"

"Ne...negative sir."

A voice called out over the intercom. "Citadel is firing! I repeat, Citadel is firing!"

Eyes were glued to the red beam that had fired from the Citadel, explosions being seen on the giant station as it aimed at the Charon relay that was past Pluto. As the beam continued to fire there were gasps as they saw one of the Citadel arms slowly break away, wondering if it would drift off into space.

The red beam finally dissipated from the Citadel, and with it the stars were littered with nothing but the debris from the epic battle for all advanced life in the galaxy.

The admiral immediately started barking orders. "Get me in contact with anyone you can in London! Anyone on Earth at all! Patch me into Hackett immediately and see if the Citadel is sending out any calls!"

Orders were being given at an amazing speed, the officers doing what they could to gather any data at the moment. Many had the same looks on their faces: _is it over?_

" 'Randa, did we win?"

Kasumi finally uttered some words after all this time, a small tear running down the side of her cheek. "I think we did, little Lawson."

She turned her hooded head to look at Miranda, the two giving a contented look, both slightly smiling at the events. "Looks like your boyfriend saved the day. Again."

Miranda couldn't help but enlarge her smile at the thought of the man she loved, but had yet to tell him using those words. He succeeded, the galaxy saved thanks to his determination.

The intercom blared in the CIC. "Sir, we have some reports coming in from Earth...all reapers are appear to be destroyed. I repeat, all reapers appear to be destroyed."

Cheers erupted from around the room, colleagues hugging one another, a few sharing kisses with one another at the news. For Miranda and Kasumi, the two just looked at each other with looks that said "another day at the office," clearly trying to downplay the excitement they felt at the news.

Oriana hugged her sister with ferocity, pulling Kasumi into the hug as well, tears falling down her eyes.

Miranda ran her hand over her sister's hair, doing her best to let her relax, comforting her in a way that was still alien to her. "Shhh, it's ok, Ori, we're going to be ok. We won. We won."

"I lost so much thanks to this war. My parents, Danner, I damn near lost you, I'm just glad I was able to hold on to something."

Her tears couldn't stop falling, Kasumi clearly being affected by what she was seeing, doing her best not to tear up as well. Miranda remained firm and strong at the emotional onslaught, her thoughts going back to the man who made all this possible.

_John, please be alive. Please._

**Two hours later**

"I don't think you made any friends with what you just did, Miranda."

"I don't _care_, Kasumi. I won't wait for alliance protocol to get in the way of saving John."

Her reply was full of ice and deadly serious, the two sitting at their seats in the shuttle cockpit as they headed full bore towards Huerta Hospital.

It had been an hour prior when it was announced over the comm chatter that Shepard was found alive, his body gravely injured in the rubble of the Presidium. It wasn't stated exactly where he would be taken but Miranda knew what C-Sec would more than likely do.

If they didn't move him, which was doubtful, he would be at Huerta, where the best human doctors would do all they could to keep the man alive.

Having convinced Admiral Alani to allow her to take a shuttle to the frigate _Miami_, which was planning to be one of the first ships to dock with the Citadel post-beam, Miranda, Kasumi, and Oriana found themselves being hindered by alliance procedure in dealing with the somewhat powerless Citadel. Protocol dictated a survey team would depart first from the airlock, full helmets and weapons drawn, much like landing on an unknown planet.

Miranda couldn't help but roll her eyes at the situation, being unable to convince the _Miami's_ captain that time was of the essence and that she was someone who could help save Shepard's life.

Very few in the alliance knew exactly what had happened to Shepard nearly three years ago. The standard propaganda line was "deep undercover," but only Admirals and key officials at Arcturus Station knew the truth of his being brought back to life at the hands of Cerberus.

It was simply assumed he was working with the branded terrorist group to protect human interests after seeing what had happened with the Geth and Saren; destroying the relay in the Bahak system only added to the speculation that Shepard had fallen from grace since sacrificing human lives to save the Council.

Having had enough of the runaround, Miranda and the others waited until various soldiers were sent to airlock to perform their idiotic "survey," and quietly knocked out the soldiers stationed in the _Miami's_ shuttle bay, taking one of the alliance shuttles for their own transportation.

Despite Kasumi's reservation about Miranda's plan, she gladly complied with knocking out the soldiers and mechanics, even scrambling the bay's security feed to allow the shuttle to leave unnoticed by the rest of the ship. Oriana was simply dumbfounded at the speed at which the two were able to work to render the shuttle bay full of unconscious people.

The two didn't expect the shuttle to be fired upon as it left the dock, Kasumi quickly wiping out any recordings aboard the shuttle bay as they left the hangar.

Miranda's face held a steel resolve as she took advantage of the scarcely used travel ways, noticing the few shuttles that she had flown by were on autopilot. Kasumi noticed the same thing.

"Who knew the Citadel could be so creepy..." the thief muttered as the shuttle dipped down, finally reaching Huerta's location. Compared to the other areas on the Citadel it seemed to have the least visible damage, shattered glass and a myriad of C-Sec shuttles in the nearby landing zones, but the multiple fires the two saw as they approached the hospital were out, their smoldering remains the only sign of any damage.

"Kasumi, get in contact with Bailey, make sure C-Sec won't give us any trouble." Miranda ordered as the alliance shuttle landed with a heavy drop, the various turian C-Sec guards in the area wondering how an alliance shuttle would land so haphazardly in the landing zone.

The shuttle door opened and Miranda stepped out first, the guards even more confused. A woman in a skintight catsuit was not something that usually stepped out of alliance shuttles, along with a timid civilian and a hooded human female lost in the glow of her omnitool.

One guard raised his hand, ordering the trio to stop, the other's Vindicator rifle drawn and rotating between the three as targets. "Just what is going on here?"

"Commander Shepard, take me to him." Miranda didn't ask, she ordered, her face reverting to her former Ice Queen persona.

"Listen lady, I don't know who the hell you are, but you don't tell us what to do. Identify yourself. _Now_."

The turian guard looked at Oriana with concern, wondering if she was willingly following the cold woman in front of her or if she was some type of hostage. Slowly he raised his weapon at Miranda, unsure of how this conversation was going to end, but preparing just in case.

A flare of biotics covered Miranda. "Lower your damn weapons, we aren't the enemy here, I'm trying to save Shepard's life!"

Kasumi finally said something, waving her arm out in front of her, hoping to show the two guards something of importance. "Here you two, Bailey gives us clearance."

_"I don't know how you two got here so quickly but I know you're here to help. Let these women through."_

Bailey's voice was tired and held a small amount of frustration, multiple voices in the background being heard as he attempted to help coordinate rescue efforts following the immediate aftermath of what had just happened.

The turians looked at each other and then lowered their weapons, one pointing behind him.

"We'll let the others know you're on your way. Commander Shepard's in the ICU..."

"I know where that is." Miranda said as she walked past the guards, not wasting anymore time. Kasumi pushed Oriana forward as she brought up the rear, giving a slight nod of appreciation to the guards now that the situation didn't escalate further.

The elevator whisked open as doctors and nurses were bouncing off of the wall, running from patient to patient, some doctors covered with the various bloods of the species being treated at the hospital. The guards in the hospital proper were too busy helping to move patients to actually attempt to stop the three women as they pushed forward, Miranda pushing anybody in her way aside as she headed to the ICU

Tapping on her omnitool before she entered the ICU, Miranda looked at Kasumi with softer gaze than she had given the others in her way. "Kasumi, watch Oriana while I help John. See if you can get in contact with anyone else Shepard knows." The thief said nothing but gave her a strong nod, knowing that she needed to focus solely on helping their Commander and couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

" 'Randa, you can do it." Oriana's hopeful look made the older sister smile warmly as the door shut in front of her.

Waiting for the decontamination process to finish, Miranda did her best to get her head in the right state of mind. Her days of running the Lazarus Project flooded her mind, remembering how distant she had to be, how crucial it was to bring the man she now loved back to life, everyone else either serving that end goal or being an obstacle in her way.

Despite her deep desire to simply turn off all other areas of her brain, she couldn't stop thinking about the last time they saw each other, the blue face of Shepard trying to be as close as he could to her that she could imagine the warmth of his breath on her neck, the pit of her stomach wondering if they really would see each other again.

The door slid open as Miranda made her way to the room that clearly contained Shepard, an armed human C-Sec officer standing watch as an asari nurse ran out the room, her hands covered in red as she headed to the supply room for more equipment and no doubt more blood, from the look of things.

The guard nodded as she entered the room, not putting up any resistance. Inside, Miranda heard Dr. Michel yell out orders as she perched over Shepard's body, the various diagnostic scans on the medical equipment showing that his pulse was beating rapidly to keep up with the trauma he had sustained. From her short distance away she could see that his chest was moving up and down with greater frequency than would normally occur.

"Give me another set of forceps! Here, hold this in place!" The french accent filled the room as the other human doctors did as they were told, all their heads hovering over Shepard and doing what they can to keep the man alive.

"The internal burns have damaged circulation flow, we need more blood! Where is Brantela?" _Internal burns? His implants must have fried. The reaper tech..._

Miranda stepped forward, looking to place herself to the right of Dr. Michel, but in doing so she finally saw Shepard's face.

Her initial elation fell as deep as could be imagined, seeing his battered and bruised face almost covered in a massive welt of deep purple. His eyes were closed, thankfully, but the dried up blood of his crushed nose and the deep gouge on his cheek initially made her want to run and caress his face, believing her touch could make it all go away.

Panic creeping in, it was a surge of emotion that nearly made her eyes well up in tears. She turned her head but her eyes became fixated on the bones in his legs that were splintered, his left leg looking like someone had put an odd shaped object in a bag, portions sticking out. _My God John, the pain..._ No one could withstand that pain if they were conscious.

With the Lazarus Project Shepard's body was more like reshaping clay, yet his face and brain remained largely preserved thanks to the his helmet. That's what made this sight all the more worse, on top of now feeling an emotional attachment to the Commander.

Her body slowly warmed, her body perspiring at seeing everything that was happening in front of her.

Miranda closed her eyes as hard as she could, pushing the feelings she felt down as far as she could take them, wiping the small tears from the sides of her eyes as she got into the right mindset. _Miranda. You. Will. Not. Fail._

Stepping to place herself at the top of the operating table, Miranda began to bark orders. "I'm here on behalf of Admiral Hackett to save Commander Shepard's life." Before anyone could argue with the woman who now stood before them, she continued.

"Ignore his legs for the moment, the burns on his body would be located in his arms and chest. Tell your nurse that it doesn't matter what blood he takes, he's AB positive." _Just like me._

Dr. Michel looked up as she heard the authoritative Australian accent. Instead of questioning the woman who just appeared, she smiled slightly behind her clear plastic facemask. "We know his blood type, but thank you for the help, Miss Lawson."

Miranda said nothing as they looked at each other momentarily before Dr. Michel continued, sweat now beading up on her pale forehead. "I'm friends with Dr. Chakwas, she told me of what you accomplished nearly two years ago."

The woman didn't continue, keeping the secrecy of the Lazarus Project safe from the others in the room. The next words out of her mouth were simple and directed to all in attendance: "This woman knows more about Shepard's body than anyone else alive, do what she says."

Wiping her brow quickly, attempting to keep the sweat at bay, Miranda's biotics flared, she placed her left hand on Shepard's chest, allowing a slight pulse to help facilitate circulation. "This should help with blood flow, he had cybernetic implants that must have burned out due to that blast. Focus on that instead of the blunt trauma, his body has had hard skin weaves in various locations."

"His head shows signs of concussive trauma and swelling," Dr. Michel quickly commented.

Miranda used her right hand to gently point to a spot in the back of Shepard's head, her fingers lightly stroking his face as they made their way to his scalp. "Have someone perform a ventriculostomy here, there's a synthetic membrane there that either burned out with the other implants or was weakened."

Dr. Michel nodded "Githa, get the equipment ready, do what she says."

The young Indian female nodded and moved the required equipment to the corner, various VI programs starting up.

Miranda moved her hand from his scalp and gently placed it over the gouge on his cheek, lightly applying a soothing biotic pulse as she tried to avoid looking at the rest of Shepard's face. Unable to wipe her brow at the moment, a light drop of sweat fell from the tip of her nose, landing right in the middle of Shepard's bruised forehead.

_"Miri."_

Miranda looked around in a panic, her body immediately breaking into a cold sweat of greater intensity at the sound she just heard. It didn't come from Shepard's mouth, but it was his voice.

_"Miri."_

There was his voice again, more pronounced, booming over the voices of the doctors that surrounded her. She wasn't paying attention but her biotics increased in intensity at the sense of fear she felt at this moment, being caught completely off guard, something she never planned or expected right now.

She looked down and saw that Shepard's eyes shot open, staring right at her.

_"Miri!"_

* * *

Miranda woke up, her body drenched in a cold sweat, her eyes noticing that her face was resting halfway on Shepard's chest, the light purple hue of her biotics catching her eyes.

Ignoring her hand that was on his chest, she pushed her body up as she looked at Shepard in the eyes, his face immediately showing a worried gaze, for this was something he had never experienced with her.

He pushed himself up to wrap his arms around her, stroking her hair off her face as he slowly rocked back and forth, trying to have her heart stop its rapid pace, her body cold with sweat and lightly trembling.

"Miri, it's ok, it was just a nightmare."

Miranda wrapped her hands around Shepard's chest, her eyes filling with tears but refusing to fall as she pushed them onto Shepard's skin instead.

"I'm sorry, John."

Her mouse like whisper contained such a strong pain that he didn't know what brought this on. She had been so strong over the past few days, only having her walls drop upon their fateful reunion at his apartment.

_Was she apologizing for the nightmare? Why?_

It didn't matter at the moment, he held her close, resting his head on top of hers, lightly brushing her forehead with kisses to let her know she was awake and surrounded by the man she loved.

"Shhh, shhh, you don't have to apologize for anything, just breathe in slowly. That's it, you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

They remained like this for a good five minutes, neither saying anything else as Miranda refused to move her head from his shoulder. Over the short period of time her slight sniffling had stopped, her composure being regained with each passing moment.

Shepard whispered into her ear, hoping to help soothe her so that she can still get some more sleep before they arrived at Tuchanka. Looking at the clock he noticed they still had three more hours before they would reach the Krogan DMZ.

"We all have those times when we just can't keep a brave face anymore, please don't worry about this, Miri."

"I feel like a bloody teenager, John."

"Come on now, everyone has these moments, especially after everything we've seen and done."

"I should be better than this."

"And you _are_, Miri."

He pulled her away from his chest, wanting to look her in the eyes when he said these words, "You are, without a doubt, the best person I know. Those impossibly high standards you hold yourself too? That you hold myself to?" His last sentence received a slight smile from his lover, "You reach them routinely. In fact, I know you hold onto your failings so close because you simply can't remember all of your successes."

Letting her find her home on his shoulder once more, he allowed some more levity to break through her wall. "And a bogeyman is no match for me, ok? I destroy bad dreams like him on the way to conscious brain activity."

"That was terrible, John."

Feeling her chuckle slightly and kiss his neck, she allowed the two of them to recline back on the bed, Shepard letting her make herself comfortable anyway she wanted, he would adjust. He would do anything for her.

"I love you." Miranda let the words roll off her tongue so naturally now.

"And I love you. Now get some more rest, we'll be at Tuchanka soon. That's an order."

Planting one last kiss on his neck, Miranda quietly replied, "Yes, sir."

**Long chapter, but that flashback was something I wanted to get to. Next chapter, let's hunt some krogan.**


	19. Krantts and Favors

19: Krantts and Favors

The shuttle's landing brought with it a cloud of dust, sunlight being blocked out momentarily as the doors opened as Shepard and his crew stepped out into the open field that surrounded the Shroud. It was one of the few shuttles in the area, the rest of the field littered with both functional and damaged Tomkahs. For the time being it looked as though the allied species still weren't fond of allowing fertile, airborne krogan to return to the skies, even if they remained on their own planet.

This was Wrex's requested meet-up spot, a place symbolic of the new lease on life the krogan were given. From here the krogan would rebuild, prosper, work with the species who had once quelled their growing numbers.

Shepard's eyes couldn't help but look up at the Shroud and see the large exposed opening at the top, a reminder of the place Mordin gave his life in order to fix the imbalance he continued on the population. For as long as he knew the salarian he had always believed that what he did was the right thing, yet it was clear from his actions that he made a mistake. Perhaps Mordin had more pride than to openly admit that, yet his actions were undeniable.

Snapping back into captain mode, Shepard returned his gaze to the gathered crew. "Alright. Zaeed, you stay here with Cortez in case we need to depart quickly, don't try to rip off any headplates."

"Fwah!" The mercenary laughed as he lit a cigar with one hand and tapped his sheathed knife with the other, some of the other crew curious as to what exactly the man was capable of doing.

"We're going to meet up with Wrex in the structure behind us," Shepard said, sticking his thumb behind him, the squad looking at the damaged building. It was a place that once looked like it might have been the home to a high ranking politician or, if possible, krogan aristocrat.

"We should be in good graces, and realize that we've been dealing with the more...cultured krogan, so if anyone gives you trouble, just do what you can to shrug it off."

Grunt nodded as he closed his eyes, feeling that yes, he was enlightened compared to the others.

"Everyone on me. Grunt, it's your home, lead the way." Shepard stepped aside as the young krogan, tankborn but had already gained the respect of the Urdnot clan, walked ahead, the krogan soldiers who looked at the motley crew of aliens nodded as signs of respect to his krantt.

Grunt and Shepard's defeat of the Thresher Maw for his rite of passage was one of the most talked about stories on the planet, and that was before the tale of Shepard risking life and limb to summon Kalros to defeat the reaper that guarded the Shroud.

Shepard couldn't be bothered at the time to hear how that story was told, but he had a feeling that Wrex would embellish the story to make his friend stand out even more. _Either that, or claim that he was the one who summoned, no rode, Kalros into victory._

The large building had scarce lights on the inside as the orange sun, blocked by the constant sand that whipped up, provided enough light to make their way up the grand stone stairway. The squad arrived to see a large makeshift terminal filled with Wrex's council and members of the various clans that had allied themselves with the leader of the krogan..

"Old man, we have arrived!"

Grunt's loud bark echoed against the barren, pockmarked walls, Wrex turning around from his meeting with the others to see the faces that he knew as friends.

Wrex marched over with a smile on his face, his arms open to welcome everyone who stood in front of him.

He rushed to hug Shepard, but not before he head butted Grunt for his insubordination at calling him an "old man." The young krogan stood back a bit as he stumbled from the blow, his anger rising, but letting it go when he saw that his damaged headplate that he took so much pride in had left a small cut just to the right of Wrex's right eye.

"Damn whelp." It seemed less an insult and more the saying that an older brother would use amongst his kin.

Turning his attention to Shepard, he hugged the human with force, shaking him like a rag doll at his uncontrolled happiness. "There's the man who made all this possible!"

Finally letting go, Shepard punched the krogan in the chest as a sign of respect, his red family armor buckling slightly at the force of the blow, showing that Shepard did not hold back, playful as it was. "Great to see you again, Wrex. Now you can get to work rebuilding this hellhole."

"Hahaha, it's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" The krogan took a big sniff of his surroundings before giving a large exhale. "You don't know how good it feels to have my people find something to exist for instead of being damn weapon fodder."

Turning his attention to the squad of friends and former teammates, Wrex spread his hand out in front of him. "You guys are more than welcome to look around here, Bakara is in the chamber just down the hall with other pregnant females."

Liara was surprised by that piece of information, one of the few people in the squad who had spoken with the female while she remained aboard the Normandy. Her eyes lit up with a smile following suit, "Pregnant? That _was_ rather fast, Wrex."

"A lot of catching up to do, Liara." The krogan gave her a creepily amused smile, proud of his accomplishments. Immediately Liara's smile turned to one of disgust.

"It's so great though, isn't it?" Tali said as she made her way to the chamber, almost skipping. She never had the chance to meet Bakara but heard Wrex talk about her constantly during their time together on the Citadel, and she had never seen a pregnant krogan female before. Liara quickly followed in her footsteps. Even James was interested in seeing the female krogan again.

Shepard was slightly puzzled why the lieutenant would head to the chamber, until Vega himself answered without and questioning.

"Hey, she liked my food. And she owes me a bottle of tequila."

_Now it made sense._

"Should my squad expect any trouble while we're here, Wrex?"

"If someone gives you crap I will _personally_ shoot their quad off, Shepard. These are the clans who united with me early on, who recognize the only way to save our children is through cooperation, not retaliation. Come here, let me show you why you're needed."

Shepard followed Wrex to a large concrete slab that contained various tech and maps displaying the terrain of the area, nodding to his squad to allow them the opportunity to disperse.

As he made his way over, he noticed that his XO had made her way to his side, a slight smile surfaced with a hint of embarrassment that only Shepard could detect.

After the events of their early morning, Miranda had been a bit more introverted than usual, yet was able to focus on the mission at hand once the shuttle departed the Normandy. He had remained close and gentle with her in that time, his lover showing her appreciation by opening up more as they made their way around the ship for morning activities before heading down to the planet. It was something they knew they would discuss after this mission, but for now they resigned themselves to these moments of comfort.

"Shepard, stop looking at your mate and look here." Wrex slapped the human on the back to make him look at the virtual map in front of him, covered in red, a small but significant portion covered in green to the north of the area they currently found themselves in.

"I take it that's not Tuchanka's vegetation..."

"Damn right, that's the area my brother has claim over." The area was surrounded by mountains and plateaus, a vast desert separating it from the Shroud. The location was just outside the Kelphic Valley that Bakara had visited to rally support for the war. It's distance from the Shroud was significant but could be easily covered by shuttle in an hour, by Tomkahs in four.

"It seems you weren't the only one who explored the catacombs months back. Wreav's vehicle was pulled into an ancient chamber that seemed to help cushion his fall, and he made his way out to fight some more. According to the reports I received while I was coordinating the fight on Palaven, he seemed to be effective in rallying krogan to his side, making for a powerful line of resistance against reaper ground forces from entering the valley. It wasn't until I returned to the planet a few days ago to find out that bastard was still delusional about being the leader of the krogan and making those ridiculous demands."

Wrex let out a forced laugh, running his hand over the map to change to various data on the clans Wreav seemed to have under his control.

"The fool seems to think the females will just accept whoever is the strongest if we fight, he doesn't realize how much Bakara has done to make them push for a better path. It doesn't matter that he has clans Jorgal and Ravanor on his side. At this point I'm more concerned with him attempting to annex the Valley by force, we still have some females in the area, a few about to deliver their first clutches."

"I get it, Wrex, we can drop in from the skies, take out Wreav and those close to him, get out unnoticed, and give what's left of his allies a chance to be absorbed into Urdnot or be destroyed."

Shepard was used to this type of map, a few hand waves and taps showed the Captain's plan to drop his squad via shuttle just south of the plateau, using the natural cover to allow for easy insertion into the camp.

"That's why I called for you personally, Shepard. That pretty, pretty brain of yours."

The krogan leader brought forward a map showing ground support. "We can time this so that an hour after you take out Wreav, Aralakh and Cain Company will arrive as backup."

Shepard and Miranda looked at Wrex with confused faces. "I thought you were coming with us, Wrex."

"I'd love to, but I'm better suited here. I've got to think of the outside politics here, Shepard. If I arrive and squash Wreav like the bug he is with the might of clan Urdnot, those few ships up in orbit are going to report that it looks more like a generic vendetta, and I don't want the old krogan ways to remain at the forefront of the Council's mind at the moment. Having a Spectre here shows a willingness to adhere to galactic laws."

Shepard couldn't help but look up at the concrete roof as Wrex pointed above the two, referring to the few turian and alliance ships that the Normandy saw orbiting the planet as they arrived at Tuchanka along with a skeleton crew of CDEM forces that maintained orbit around the planet. Joker had them identified as security forces, yet that seemed a bit ridiculous considering the species they were supposed to provide security for.

"Besides, krogan know that the greater the enemy, the more respect they earn. It will weaken their morale to know they weren't worthy of Urdnot Wrex's presence."

"I would say a Spectre who stopped the reapers would be pretty high up there."

"Shepard, you know you're a great warrior, but I'm asking you to put aside your massive ego and make sure no one sees you during this fight." Wrex joked.

"They might concede and allow themselves to be absorbed if you treat them as weaklings," Miranda had let her presence finally be known at the table, "or you anger them so much by that rejection that they choose to fight you to the death."

Wrex looked at Miranda with narrow eyes, trying to read the expression of Shepard's mate as best he could. She returned the stare with one of her own, letting her hip rest to one side as she crossed her arms, not backing down.

"You," Wrex said as his eyes widened, a smile coming to his face as he pointed to her repeatedly, "I respect your point. Shepard! You chose your mate wisely!"

"My 'mate' has a name, Wrex. Miranda. You met her at the party."

"Did I?"

"We talked about the possibility of the Council allowing greater krogan expansion by facilitating your forces as voluntary labor on Council homeworlds after the war."

"Oh, right, right." Wrex wrapped his hand around his chin, finally putting a name to the face. "Yes, yes, of course, you were very eloquent, like an asari. But all your human names sound the same."

Getting back to the situation at hand, Wrex continued. "Anyway, to counter your point I would be leaning on Jorgal's desire for a continued legacy of lineage and Ravanor's desire for trade. Without Wreav to push their warlords along with his goals they should concede without more resistance, leaving Wreav's most loyal to either fight to the death or choose the correct brother to follow."

On a hunch, it seemed like Wrex was only telling half the story for taking care of Wreav. Making himself stand apart from actually destroying his brother showed a more diplomatic side that the other species thought the krogan lacked, yet at the same there seemed to be something more...personal than dealing with a crazy brother. Shepard threw out one piece of bait, looking to see if the krogan would bite.

"How far along is Bakara's pregnancy, anyway?"

Wrex's eyes again narrowed slightly. _There's the bite._

"You're good, Shepard. I would have expected that from Miranda. Bakara's set to lay her first fertile clutch any day now. I guess, well, I want to be there as they incubate."

"To what, tell them stories?"

"Of course!" Wrex's eyes had a glint of optimism to them at the idea of being able to communicate to his yet unborn children. "Your pal Mordin told me to speak in a high pitched tone so their developing ears could hear me, and that stories of wonder and curiosity will help with deductive reasoning. He recommended something about a pyjak named Perry..."

Shepard and Miranda were both trying so hard not to spoil the moment for Wrex, as he seemed to genuinely believe the ridiculous stuff Mordin had been feeding him while developing a cure for the genophage. In order to walk right on that line, he finally muttered, "That Mordin, he always thought of something, didn't he?"

"For a salarian he seemed on the up and up."

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say."

"Ok, enough with putting me on trial here, let's focus on the map in front of us."

"My team can get it done, and Grunt can take all the credit."

"I like your self-sacrificing nature, Shepard. And I promise you the first born male of mine will have the name Shepard, he will lead when I fall! He will pick up others and carry them into the new world we've worked so hard for!" Grabbing his human friend one more time, he whispered in a low growl these final words as he pulled the human's face close to him.

"He will be better than _you,_" the ominous tone in how he said those last words made Miranda furrow her brow in slight anger.

Shepard's face was blank before Wrex smiled a bit. "Gotcha. I _will_ make sure he lives up to the name though, you deserve that much."

"And if it's a girl?"

"Mordin, like I promised Bakara."

"Some names are universal, Wrex." Shepard pinched his nose as the krogan laughed powerfully, drawing attention from the fellow soldiers that stood watch.

* * *

**Four Hours Later**

"You know the plan, anyone have any questions?"

The squad shook their heads in the negative as Shepard pulled his recon hood over his face, the goggles lighting up in a slight red hinge as the various targeting systems came online.

Shepard chose to bring the "quietest" members for the mission, the others would stay at the Shroud on standby while Grunt and Aralakh Company would secure the area as ordered by Wrex.

With him in the shuttle were Garrus, Samara, Kasumi and Javik. In Shepard's mind the plan remained relatively straightforward; a stealth drop right below the plateau at night, Shepard and Kasumi would sneak into Wreav's lair and take him out, while the others would provide a diversion outside and draw krogan away from Wreav's side.

"Coming in as high as I can drop you off without alerting our presence, Shepard, not reading any patrols in the area. Keep in contact if you need an earlier extraction."

"Thanks, Steve. Alright team, let's move out."

The shuttle door opened as they leaped onto the rocky ground from the drive-by drop off, the shuttle moving so fast that dust was unable to gather as Cortez sped away. The two biotics floated gracefully down while Kasumi's catlike reflexes made an appearance. Only the loud thuds of Shepard and Garrus could be heard.

As the squad soldiered up the slope of the cliff, thankful they weren't dealing with a much more difficult escarpment, a quick tap of Kasumi's omnitool attempted to roughly map out the area they landed at, using the data provided by Wrex along with a program that tried to locate high bandwidth signals in the area.

Outside of a lone beep that seemed to be deep within the mountain's naturally fortified residence that was built into the other side of the plateau, it seemed to have no other turrets or automated defenses. If a leader of a rival clan would be anywhere, it would be where he can give out orders.

"Looks like Wreav is lacking in the tech department, sticking to his soldiers and all the weapons he can carry."

Garrus quickly replied, "Hmmm, less concern for sensors and motion detectors, but that means a greater chance for someone to stumble on a dead ally or late patrol."

"True. Although I was thinking we might try a diversion."

Shepard pointed to a rise that was on the others side of the cliff, nearly half a kilometer away. The plateau was flat on the top except for that area, what looked like a nearly ten meter high area of jagged rock that did not level off.

"Samara, Javik, with you two providing a little encouragement, you can trigger a decent enough rockslide to draw attention away while Kasumi and I sneak in and take care of Wreav."

"I like the way you think, Captain, give them something insignificant to deal with as you end their lives." The prothean gave a slight smile, showing his sharp teeth.

"You know they won't stop and surrender just because Wreav is dead."

Garrus gave his common scrutiny of Shepard's plan as he continued the trek upwards, critical but never dismissive of his friend's idea, just wanting him to follow through his thought.

"Not initially, no, but once Grunt and the others arrive, they might realize they either fight and likely die, or they live and get a chance to spread their lineage in a few months. And if all goes according to plan Kasumi and I will never be spotted."

"You are asking them to choose between violence and mating, Captain, I don't know which one the krogan prefer more."

"I know, Javik, and if they don't concede they get put down, but I'm hoping after the damage we can cause they recognize the bigger picture."

"There are no innocents in this compound, are there, Captain?"

"None that Wrex told me of, Samara. If there are I wouldn't ask any of you to kill them either." The asari couldn't see his now obscured face but if she could it would be the same face he always wore when it came to protecting others. In their time together he had never pushed her to do anything that would go against her code, and she knew that and trusted him when he said those words.

"Samara, Javik, start moving, contact us when you're in position."

The two nodded in their own ways as they departed, biotics flaring on their feet as they used their abilities to jump and push off various rocks in a more graceful manner up the slope and towards that small protrusion.

"And we lucky normals get to enjoy the hike," Garrus deadpanned as the three made their way up the rocky terrain, it's angle not being steep enough to require actual climbing.

They made their way up slowly but surely, occasionally stopping when it appeared they might see a patrol silhouette against the moonlight.

"Well, I thought you boys would be faster, but I'm going to scout up ahead, save us all some time."

"Stay cloaked when possible, Kasumi."

The thief saluted as she quietly dashed ahead, almost skipping a dance as her cloak turned on.

"She makes it look so easy, like her body doesn't recognize angles," Garrus grumbled.

"I agree, if only we still had Thane with us."

"I doubt he would be able to be of much help climbing up with Kepral's Syndrome."

"You know what I mean, Garrus."

"Yeah, he was a good friend. Incredibly scary at first but as long as you were fighting the good fight he didn't seem to get in your way."

"Remember when he gave Rolston that drell doll to give his kid? And how everyone in the crew expected it to have some hidden knife or be contain some kind of explosive?"

Shepard couldn't help but smile underneath his hood at the memory, something that occurred while they were docked in Ilium after destroying the Collector Base.

"Asking Mordin to run scans on it in the lab sure was weird to see, I'll never forget the puzzled look on his face and having to repeatedly tell Rolston the doll was safe."

As the two continued up the hill, Shepard's comm began to broadcast into his ear.

"Samara here, Captain, we've arrived. We'll wait for your signal."

Slightly upset as himself for how quickly they were able to arrive, across a larger distance no less, Shepard responded, "Understood, Samara, it should be another ten minutes. If you can give a heads up on what you see on the other side, let me know."

"Affirmative."

"They made it up there already?"

"And I bet Kasumi will be checking in soon as well."

"Hey, just remember, we're doing it above the military standard. They're just the freaks. Let's see them try and pick off a gunship in one shot."

"I'm perfectly content with my skills and abilities, Garrus, you might need to speak with someone about your inferiority complex."

"I could always talk to Miranda about it."

Garrus meant it as a joke, a rib at the "perfect woman" and Shepard knew that, but he stopped and looked at his turian friend behind him, the red eyes of his hood staring at Garrus' helmet. He simply put up a hand as if to say "not right now."

"Let's...let's go easy on cracking wise with her for a bit."

Garrus was surprised by the defensiveness of his friend. Usually he let him get away with a _lot_ more, and a lot harsher words. He never meant most of what he said, and if he did Shepard would easily read through it. The turian responded by holding his own hands up, knowing that he was reading the implication loud and clear.

"Got it. I take it there's something wrong between you two?"

Shepard shook his head as he continued to climb. "Not at all, it was just that, well, she kind of had a panic attack last night. I've never seen her like that before. Heck, the way she acted I don't think she's ever had one before."

"I didn't even think she was capable of having them, her father might have removed that for not being a trait of perfection."

"We were sleeping and she just rolled into me, her hands were dancing around my chest and face. At first I thought it was cute, but she started to break into a massive sweat and kept firing up her biotics."

"The sweating sounds a bit like how Chakwas and the others reacted after we rescued them from the Collectors."

That brought back memories.

Shepard was able to save his entire squad from the Collectors but after that short moment of celebration when the Normandy reached the safety of the Terminus System, PTSD arrived in full force. The crew never wanted to have downtime, normal Normandy sounds made them freak out, and Kelly, the one person who was trained to handle the mental health of the crew had herself become an emotional wreck.

Time did what it could to at least suppress the more vivid memories the crew experienced, along with a sleeping sedative Mordin had provided, but it always remained, ready to return at their lowest points.

"That's actually a good point. Maybe I should ask Karin or Ken and Gabby to talk with her a bit. You know, have them talk to her without really talking to her."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?"

Shepard had turned around to see Garrus pointing right at him, referring to Shepard's own inability to sleep during the war, being haunted by the ghosts and decisions of the past.

"Good call. Would you believe I forgot about myself because the nightmares stopped once I was blasted by Harbinger?"

"No, and I'd follow it up by saying you're full of crap."

"I'm being honest, Garrus."

"Uh huh."

"We can discuss that later. I just want Miranda to know this isn't something that only happens to her. I would think with all the other stuff we've been through, like when she nearly died falling off that platform after we killed that reaper larvae, that would keep her up at night."

"But _you_ were there, Shepard, to comfort her after we destroyed the base, to hold her, put her mind at ease. Even after Horizon, you were there for her on the Citadel. I bet having to help keep that very pillar she used for emotional support alive after the war shook her up more than she realized."

"It seems like you're relating some information about you and Tali."

"Exactly! Take it from my firsthand experience: you survive something like what we went through, you need to diffuse yourself, either with someone you care about or talking to someone about it. With Oriana around, Miranda had to maintain that wall for her sister's sake. And as cordial as Kasumi can be, I bet she wasn't able to open up Miranda, specifically when it came to you."

Looking to put Miranda from his mind as they almost reached the top, he tried to dig a bit deeper into his friend's new relationship. "How bad was it on Zorya for you and Tali?"

Clearing his throat behind his helmet, it was the turian's turn to shy away from their usual banter. "I...didn't know how long we were going to be stranded, and if we would have been able to even get the ship back online. All I knew was that she had more to live for than I did, so I made sure she got priority on the rations."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed that you keep a crate of rations in the battery now..."

"Just in case Joker ever has to repeat evacuating from a planet's atmosphere while dodging giant machines and falling ships. I've dealt with worse, but that sure was something I don't want to repeat. And Tali really shouldn't have to be put through that."

_"If you boys are done talking up a storm, I can fill you in on what I see."_

The two were nearly at the top of the plateau, yet couldn't find Kasumi anywhere, her cloak hiding her well.

_I swear, I need a new omnitool that can't be hacked..._

"Ok Kasumi, what do you see?"

_"On the other side there's maybe two dozen or so Tomkahs, a few worn down prefabs for the regular grunts Wreav has. Heh, grunts..."_

"Kasumi..."

_"Oh come on now, it's no worse than the puns you say. Anyway, the complex built into the cliff looks old, like those catacombs you guys had talked about visiting. It's got a few balconies we can sneak into from the middle of the cliff, the guards seem mostly at the lower levels, mingling with the soldiers in the small valley below. I'm counting about twenty visible krogan at the moment, dozens more down in the valley."_

Shepard arrived at the top of the cliff, slowly crawling over to scout the area. As Kasumi said, it was a small valley that existed, its size being cut off because of a lake sat at the bottom of a hill a few hundred meters from their location. Whatever feelings he had about Wreav, Shepard had to admit he chose a place where he could secure his forces, using the natural protection of the cliffs and plateaus to his advantage.

"Samara, Javik, you get all that?"

_"Affirmative, Captain. We can trigger a rockslide so that it can block in a few of the Tomkahs should they think about escaping, then provide a distraction with some random fire."_

"Sounds good, keep them firing up above while Kasumi and I sneak in."

Shepard motioned for Garrus to slowly make his way to the extreme right side of the cliff, allowing for greater confusion as to the location of the covering fire. The turian did so, but not before bumping his fist with his Captain, their faces covered but their bodies showing their respect and best wishes for the mission.

Kasumi decloaked right next to Shepard, a move that would surprise anyone else but her squadmates for the past years. "Ready for the jump, or do you want to rappel down?"

"How many meters is it?"

Kasumi pointed to the key areas she thought of as she waited for Shepard and Garrus to arrive. "I'd say about 5 meters to the concrete roof, and then another five meters to the actual balcony floor."

"I can jump that, cloak and jump down, when I land on the roof you jump down again."

"On it, Shep."

Moving towards the roof point Kasumi had pointed out, Shepard got in contact with Samara one last time."

"Count to three, Samara, and then you and Javik can start the rockslide."

_"Counting down."_

One.

Two.

Three.

Shepard quickly jumped down as he saw the rockslide occur, a few lights from the valley floor shining up as they saw the debris coming down at a rapid pace.

With that being his cue, Shepard jumped down, a brief moment of confusion arriving when he didn't reach the concrete roof as he had expected. It arrived later, as his feet hit the concrete he rolled to cushion the fall. It seemed more like an eight meter drop, something that was pushing the limits of what his armor and bones could withstand when you add his weight to that of the weapons on his back.

After taking a sticky charge and placing it in the middle of the concrete roof, he pulled out his Black Widow and quickly set it to armor piercing, using his resting position to pick one of the krogan who were confused and running to look at the trucks as the rockslide arrived into the valley.

Finding one of the soldiers who had already pulled out a revenant rifle, Shepard clicked in his comms. "Garrus you see the krogan in black with the Revenant? Follow up on three."

_"In my sights."_

Shepard fired twice, one hitting the krogan in the chest, the other striking the left side of his face. By the time the other krogan noticed what had happened, two more shots came from Garrus, both hitting the krogan in the head, the body falling to the ground with the momentum of the final two rounds.

With one more round left in the chamber, Shepard switched to incendiary ammo and aimed at the canisters of fuel that were next to a nearby prefab house. Firing, he watched as a bright red flame erupted in the air, his hoods nighttime optics doing what they could to minimize the brightness.

Holstering his rifle, Shepard let his friend fire in a set time, pinning down the other krogan as they shouted for reinforcements, while at the same time providing key shots to the redundant organs of a few unlucky soldiers.

Jumping down again and preparing for the increased distance, Shepard landed on his feet, his knees catching his body along with a brace of his right hand on the smooth surface.

"Nice jump, very ninja."

"Five meters, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Shep, it looked that way to me." Even Kasumi knew that this wasn't something to play around with, especially in an area infested with krogan, so the extra earnestness in her voice did what it could to avoid any reprimand.

The sound of random bursts of fire came from Javik and Samara's position, the constant running of Javik's Typhoon filling the air with noise as spotlights were trying to be drawn on their position. Samara, ever resourceful, used the additional rocks in her vicinity to be hurled with her biotics at the krogan forces. With Garrus' sniper rifle blasting away, the sense of confusion was created that worked perfectly for the two humans to continue into the building.

Kasumi's cloak recharged as she activated it again, her Hurricane drawn, a map being patched in to Shepard's hood on the left eye lens, showing that they still had a floor or two to reach before they would hopefully find Wreav's location.

Alarms started to blare along with the sound of a dozen or so krogan running through the concrete building, their roars and sounds of their weapons loading being sounded.

Shepard didn't feel a need to worry about Kasumi, and used the shadows as best he could, his Harrier rifle pulled and ready for any close range encounters. If you shoot a krogan in the face enough times, it should fall down. Hopefully.

Contrasted to Wrex's base of operations, this building seemed long abandoned, the only things that showed signs of use were the large brick slabs of tables and long benches for seating, a few square concrete ottomans being placed in areas that, ages ago, might have been used for more social occasions.

As he placed another sticky charge on a concrete pillar, but before Shepard was able to make his way down the wide stairs to the floor below, he heard Kasumi's voice arrive in his ear. "Shepard, I've got two krogan coming your way with heavy weapons, hurry and hide!"

Looking around for a place to hide, not wanting to fight two angry krogan up close, he looked at his options.

One: if he timed it right he could jump down the stairs from an interior balcony just as the krogan made their way up, but he would be wide open to any other krogan who attempted to come up the stairs.

Two: he could double back to where he and Kasumi initially infiltrated the building and sneak by again. Like option one, however, it wouldn't be effective if more soldiers arrived.

Three: fight them head on. With surprise and maybe enough adrenaline, he could take them both out before getting any return fire or his head smashed against a brick wall. It _would_ alert everyone to his location though, and any surprise they would have would be lost.

"Move your tail, Buhrad! Get these guns on that walkway and take out those pieces of shit!"

_Dammit, if only I had biotics..._

Shepard made the decision to jump down the stairs, waiting until he saw the two krogan shadows on the wall below him, the shadows being enhanced by the spotlights and gunfire from outside.

As the krogans heads popped over the stairwell as they made their way up, Shepard jumped over the balcony with a running start to leap over the railing, falling about three meters before he planted his feet on the landing that allowed the staircase to turn ninety degrees.

Not waiting to hear if the krogan noticed him, Shepard ran down the flight of stairs and behind a pillar that was obscured in shadows. Pulling his M-11 from his thigh he waited to see if any other krogan were on their way.

"Shep, hurry up, I think I might be stuck!" Kasumi was never stuck, always being able to hide and remain hidden. His hood's tracking map located her one floor below, almost at Wreav's location. Her whispered voice continued in his ear. "I'm bracing myself above the entrance and I've got three krogan not taking our bait, they're right below me!"

Still in the shadows Shepard activated his comm channel. "Garrus, you see where we are?"

In between loud bursts of sniper fire, he could hear his friend give his status, _"Tracker shows you pretty deep inside the cliff, Shepard."_

"Can you see anything from your viewpoint to blow up, provide a closer distraction, Kasumi's cornered and she doesn't want to blow our cover."

_"I can try spraying the outer wall's entrance with explosive rounds with my Revenant, make them think an assault's coming, but-"_

"You do that and you give away your position."

_"Right."_

"OK, do it, but give me one full clip in that wall and then head back down to the extraction point. Samara, Javik, do the same in about a minute. Steve, you get all that?"

_"Roger, Captain, on my way for extraction."_

_"Shepard, what about you and Kasumi?"_

"I can get Cortez to track us once we take care of Wreav, we'll work on that as we go along. Now let me here some explosions."

A moment later he heard the splattering of gunfire hitting the concrete exterior wall below him, followed a second later by the rounds exploding. Using the opportunity he headed down the final flight of stairs and banked hard as he continued further into the building, using the faintly illuminated pillars in the hallway to hide himself amidst the chaos. Before he entered the other room, he placed one more charge on yet another pillar.

_"That did it Shep, krogan are on the move, keep an eye out."_

Three krogan came running out into the hallway, weapons drawn as they attempted to secure the area from what felt like an oncoming siege. As Shepard waited for them to fully pass his location he placed one more charge on the last pillar of the room before he ran into the next hall.

There was nowhere to hide now, and time was not on the two humans side.

_"Shep, arms out."_

Now knowing where Kasumi was, he did was he was told and into his arms landed Kasumi, a smile gracing her face as she was placed on her feet.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Miranda."

"I'm more surprised you got stuck."

"My cloak was about to go off and those krogan came out of those doors, had to jump up and brace myself for a few minutes. If it was just humans or asari I could've knocked them out."

"No need to make excuses, your reputation is still untarnished." Pulling out their respective flashbangs, the two gave each other a nod to say that they are ready to go.

Shepard led the push of the door, the massive weight taking time even under the force of an N7 marine. Kasumi's help was non-existent in this regard, but she threw her flashbang in the second the opening allowed for the grenades size.

Shepard turned his body so that his back continued to push the door open to avoid the blinding effects, tossing his grenade to Kasumi to throw into the room.

The timing of the second flashbang coincided with the door finally being opened so the two could enter, their respective weapons drawn.

Inside they saw two of Wreav's soldiers along with the head krogan himself, all of them blinded and agitated by what had just happened. Wreav was donned in dark orange armor, his face showing scars despite his hands obscuring most of his view.

The closest krogan soldier was the first to fall victim to the human tandem, Kasumi's overload diminishing his shields while Shepard's Harrier pierced through the remaining shields and the krogans face at point blank range. He fell to his right, his spirit reaching the Void before his body hit the ground.

Kasumi's fired her Hurricane to provide covering fire as Shepard reloaded his rifle and made his way to the other krogan soldier who was blindly firing his Revenant in the humans direction. Caught in the crossfire was Wreav's terminal of information.

The two remaining krogan had both growled loudly as they recovered, seeing behind a concrete table two humans firing their weapons from cover.

"You human scum! You return to my planet to help my brother?!" Wreav shouted, his footsteps being heard as he ran towards the table.

Before the two were able to get out of cover, a large hammer came crashing down between them, the force being amplified by a purple glow of biotics, detonating two purple bursts. The force was powerful, sending Kasumi flying meters in the opposite direction of Shepard, barely being able to tuck and roll and avoid major damage to her body.

Shepard was tossed into a nearby pillar, his shields flickering as they went offline because of the hammer's impact. Unfortunately, along with his shields disappearing he heard a crack sound that came from his holstered sniper rifle, the recipient of most of the damage he had just received. _Broken, definitely broken_.

As he tried to push himself off the pillar the hammer came into his view at a horizontal rather than vertical angle, accompanied by a sparks of blue. Shepard let his body fall to the ground to avoid being splattered against the pillar. As he fell his sniper rifle dislodged from its magnetic holster, the once proud (and expensive) Black Widow now just a heavy piece of scrap.

Shepard yelled in pain as he felt an electric surge cover his face, or rather coursing through his hood. He had heard of the power that krogan could wield with battle hammers, yet never experienced the power from them until now. They had just not been a major weapon of the various Blood Pack groups he had encountered since his resurrection.

Rolling away and shooting his Harrier as his back came round to find itself on the ground, he used his other hand to quickly remove his hood from his face, it's circuits now fried after that electrical discharge from Wreav's hammer.

"Shepard! You are no hero, just a tool by the Council to neuter krogan yet again!" Wreav continued to try and smash away at Shepard as he moved from area to area in the large room, paying no attention to his colleague who was being distracted by the nimble thief.

_Have to buy myself another second..._

Shepard clicked a button on his hip, and with it came the thunderous sounds of explosions above and near the four, drawing pause from the two krogan who were surprised by the proximity of the explosions and attempting to remain on their feet.

The explosives Shepard placed weren't made to collapse anything given the mass of the blocks they were placed on, but simply as a diversionary tactic should the two find themselves in the position they now faced.

Using that split second Kasumi disappeared with the help of her cloak as she dropped her spent Hurricane, sliding between the krogan soldier's legs as she removed her two sticky grenades from her belt. Pushing herself up she turned in a half circle and clicked the two grenades on, sticking them on the back of the krogan's head.

Before the krogan could attempt to remove the grenades from their awkward location on his back, Kasumi jumped and pushed her feet into the back of the soldier's armor, giving Kasumi the leverage she needed to increase her distance from the krogan on top of pushing him away from the thief, buying an extra second for the grenades to go off.

The two grenades detonated in harmony, the body falling forward to the ground like a Loki Mech whose head had just been shot off by a precision sniper.

Kasumi ran to pick up her Hurricane and reloaded as fast as she could to help Shepard, who had lost his Harrier to one of Wreav's blind swings, his M-11 doing very little to damage the enraged warlord. If anything, he was just getting angrier, and with that anger came increased strength and speed in swinging the hammer around.

Shepard tried to increase his distance as he rolled back into the room, distancing himself from the entrance. Kasumi was firing with as much accuracy as she could at the krogan, attempting to weaken his barrier.

"I am better than Wrex, and I am better than you, Shepard!" Wreav's yell came with a copious amount of saliva as the battle-high warlord screamed out his words.

Shepard couldn't back up anymore, finding his back to the room's far wall.

_Shit! _

He was now within the striking distance of an enraged warlord, his weapons depleted or destroyed and by his count he had only one more explosive charge on his person.

As Wreav pulled back for a massive swing that was covered in a purple hue, Shepard's adrenaline kicked in, time slowing down.

In this state of heightened awareness he saw Kasumi yelling something as she continued to fire fruitlessly at the krogan's backside, the krogan pulling back the hammer to his left to swing once more in a violent arc of destruction.

With nothing left to lose, Shepard took the explosive charge that remained and placed it on the wall directly behind him, Wreav being unable to see what had happened in his enraged state. As the hammer came towards the Spectre he tried to stay ahead of the rapidly approaching swing, rolling to his left.

His body was in the process of rolling as the hammer made contact with the wall that had previously been behind Shepard, making contact with the explosive that had just been placed. The hammer triggered a massive explosion that threw Shepard into the nearby wall, but also engulfing Wreav in the flames as he took the concussive brunt of the blast.

Shepard's back hit the wall in massive force, taking the breath out of him. Out of breath but knowing he had to get up, he pushed his body off the ground, small rocks of rubble falling off his back as he got up.

Still trying to catch his breath, Kasumi's voice became loud in his ear as he regained a sense of his surrounding.

"-pard! Here!"

As he looked at Kasumi he saw a Phalanx being tossed his way, this pistol being Kasumi's very own. As he was able to catch the pistol his body finally was able to successfully take in a breath, Shepard's eyes momentarily seeing black dots as it tried to inhale the fresh oxygen as quickly as it could.

The two saw the opening where there was once a back wall, a cavern being apparent with the sounds of water being heard in the distance. Between the wall and the two humans was a wounded Wreav, his armor cracked, his hammer stuck in the wall to the left.

Not wasting the moment Shepard and Kasumi walked up to the injured krogan as his labored breathing indicated his redundant organs were working overtime to heal the concussive and explosive force he received.

Shepard emptied his pistol into the krogan, Kasumi doing the same with her SMG. The body ceased to breathe as the two waited. And waited. And waited.

The battle was over.

"That was the nastiest battle I've been in yet, Shep. At least we were able to put distance between ourselves and the Collectors."

"Are you ok?"

"How sweet of you to think of me first," The thief joked as she batted her eyes, the light cybernetic glow of her contacts showing underneath her hood. "A piece of rock from that explosion made it pass my shields, I think my left ankle is fractured."

"My mistake."

"Beats being squashed by a hammer. It's hazard pay, Shep."

Shepard let a smile of thanks cover his face as he pressed the communicator behind his right ear.

"Cortez. Mission successful, prepare for extraction."

_"-tain, ha- -e -ing you-"_

"Cortez? Steve!"

Kasumi shook her head. "Too far below rock, and Cortez might be too far out of range. And thanks to our firefight the communicator here is too damaged for me to hack into."

Before the two could attempt any other contact with their squad, the sounds of krogan entering the outside hall echoed in the background.

The humans were in no condition to fight, having no weapons and no means of calling for backup at the moment. They made their way over to where the wall previously was. Looking down, there was nothing but the sounds of water splashing below them. If they were going to jump, it would be at least twenty meters.

"My lenses low light sensors show there _is_ a stream down there. How deep, I don't know."

"Hurry! To aid our battlemaster!" The krogan were just outside.

Shepard looked to his friend, the two knowing what needed to be done as they backed up to get a running start. Kasumi was hobbling now, trying to hide her pain but her wincing was visible as they backed up.

"Here, hold on," Shepard lifted Kasumi up in his arms. She wrapped her hands around his neck as he brought her close with his left arm reaching around her back to press her against his chest, his right arm reaching over Kasumi's thighs, making sure she was secure against him for the coming jump.

Kasumi looked at him with a concerned look, wondering if this would work. "Have you ever done this before?"

"N-School had us doing sub-orbital drops, that's _kind_ of like this, right? Only without the other person."

"Ever the optimist."

Shepard started his run, Kasumi trying to be as close to Shepard as she could as he ran to the edge.

With a leap Shepard left the room, clearing a few meters in distance as the two fell to the water below. As they fell Shepard made sure to rotate his body so that he hit the water first, hoping his shields would help lessen the impact. And, of course, hoping the water below was deep enough.

_I wish I had biotics..._

**Kind of wanted to do a sneak around mission, infiltrator-light type stuff. My take on Wrex is that he's a powerful leader, but that he really doesn't want to fight anymore now that there's a genophage cure, or at least fight in the constant manner krogan are accustomed to. He's also always been a bit secretive and much more political than he lets on, which can be a good and a bad thing.**


	20. Heavy Water

20: Heavy Water

A loud splash and the sensation of the cool water covered Shepard and Kasumi as they fell into the river, their speed lessening upon impact as they felt themselves fall further below the surface.

Luckily the river was not shallow as the two felt the pressure increase the further they went down, their bodies finally stopping and allowing themselves to swim up.

Shepard had held onto Kasumi so that her fractured ankle wouldn't be a liability as she hit the water or the rocky surface below, something that would cause her to gasp in agony and possibly lead to panic as they escaped from Wreav's krogan allies.

Now that they landed in the water successfully, Shepard using his armor to take the brunt of the impact, Kasumi let herself go and gingerly started to swim up to the surface using her arms more than her legs.

Shepard appeared to do the same, but as he looked at her underwater he motioned with his hands to stay below, swim further away before surfacing. Kasumi responded with a thumbs up as she understood why: the cavern that they fell into might be dark but if any of the krogan looked down they might be able to see the two humans pop to the surface, their cover blown after all the work that they had accomplished. And if they had weapons on them it would make for an easier target to hit.

The two continued to swim meters under the water as Shepard followed Kasumi. Her lenses allowed for greater visibility in low light, and he allowed her to lead the way down the river. As the two started to run out of breath they slowly rose to the surface, breathing in the air of victory.

"Whew! That was a rush!" Kasumi exclaimed, her hands constantly moving about to keep her head above the water as she tried to float on her back to avoid putting undo pressure on her ankle.

Ever the soldier, Shepard had resorted to saving his strength by performing a combat side stroke, something he hadn't had to call upon in the past few years. The alliance armor was made to provide buoyancy in the water, and if Shepard felt the weight was too much he could always dislodge the magnetic plating.

As the duo swam a bit further down the river, aided by the gentle push, they both let their bodies fall into the water as they came upon a fork in the road.

"If we go left we're heading into that lake that we saw next to Wreav's encampment," Shepard said as he spat water out of his mouth.

"My maps are fried, and I can't get in contact with Cortez yet," Kasumi said as she paddled away to remain in place.

"Let's head right, it might take us further away from our extraction point but we're in no shape to deal with krogan, and Grunt and his squad are still a half hour away."

Kasumi nodded and allowed herself to float again the right direction, Shepard following suit.

While returning to floating on her back Kasumi dabbled on her omnitool as she tried to get it back online, the orange glow of the info screen flashing momentarily before disappearing. "If we weren't clad in our armor, this would be a nice way to end all our missions. Why can't we have a pool, Shep?"

Shepard couldn't respond to the jest as he continued to swim next to her, his face alternating between the water and rotating up to inhale.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye upon one rotation, he saw a faint orange dot gaining on the two. Surprised at first, he slowly increased his speed until he started into a full butterfly stroke, but not before yelling as Kasumi to move.

The orange dot had finally made contact with the wall of the cavern about 50 meters behind them, causing a massive explosion that sent out shockwaves, rapidly increasing the water flow as a deafening sound arrived in Shepard's ears.

He had expected the krogan to fire blindly into the water, hoping to strike either Kasumi or himself as they initially dived into the water, but he never anticipated them to be so reckless as to fire a Cain into the newly discovered cavern. As he had that thought he chided himself, realizing this was the same species that nuked their planet to near extinction when given the chance.

The rush of water caught up with the humans as they were pushed more down the river's path, now losing control against the waves.

Shepard saw that Kasumi was flailing about, the impact of the wave crashing down on her feet as she tried use her arms to stroke ahead. The pain on her ankle must have made her gasp too soon, taking in water as she coughed out his name as best she could.

He saw her go down below the surface of the water and dived to help her back up. As he dipped below the surface he heard the impact of two more Cains having been fired, one hitting the wall, the other landing in the water.

_They're going to cause a cave in!_

Making eye contact with Kasumi as he streamlined his body to gain distance between them, they grabbed hands and the thief allowed herself to be pulled to her Captain. She clasped her arms around her chest as he used his left arm to keep her in place, again using his body to shield her from the coming waves.

The coming wave lifted them up as they sped along the water's path. As they found their heads breaking the water's surface the took new breaths before being brought back down again, Shepard doing what he could to protect his injured colleague as they were slammed against the rocky surfaces against their will.

Left, right, their bodies were helpless as the seconds went by and brought them scraping across walls, moments that seemed like they would allow for breathes to be gathered were lost as more water caught up with them.

A drop of a few meters surprised the two as they hit the bottom of the river, Kasumi gasping and losing her held breath as her ankle hit the rocky surface unexpectedly. Feeling the rocky ground below them, Shepard pushed off with his legs and kicked as fast as he could to get her to the surface to allow for another breath.

Their heads surfaced and had finally been able to float out in the river as their speed slowed considerably. Looking at the bright side, the shallow water meant that they were nearing the end of the water's trail, seeing that the water's depth was now spread out among them, riding the momentum as they found themselves arriving outside the cavern into a lake that rippled at the strong influx of water.

Tuchanka had no moonlight to reflect down on them, but the stars in the sky along with the faint light of encampments kilometers away allowed for _some_ light on the damaged planet.

Both coughing out water from their throats now that they had arrived in one piece, Shepard pulled Kasumi along as he swam to the closest solid ground.

As they arrived at the sandy shore the Spectre pushed Kasumi onto the pebbly gravel, thief rolling further onto shore.

Pressing behind his ear he attempted to contact Cortez again. "Cortez, can you read us now?"

_"Loud and clear Captain. Your tracker is down, but I take it you're close to Kasumi?"_

"Correct." It seemed all that damage had ruined not only his weapons but the GPS tracker that was located in his armor's chest component.

_"Picking up her signal now, we'll be there in five minutes. Captain, you're a kilometer away from where I dropped you off."_

"Long story, Steve, but mission accomplished." Shepard turned his head to look at Kasumi who was still breathing heavily on the gravel, being unable to chime in with her usual dose of levity. "Break out the shuttle's medkit, Kasumi has a broken ankle."

_"Will do, Captain. Glad to know you're safe."_

Shepard lowered his hand to the ground as he hit the release for the armor on his arms and chest, letting them slowly disconnect from his black under armor as he took in a few deep breaths while staring at the starry sky.

"Shep?"

The Captain turned his head to Kasumi once again, offering her a smile of comfort which she reciprocated. Thanks to their ordeal of the last few minutes she had lost her purple lipstick that covered the middle of her lower lip and slightly dipped onto her chin.

"Thanks for helping me out, you don't know how much my ankle hurt."

"No problem, Kasumi. I know a bit about pain."

"There you go trying to act all macho. I know it's weird to think about, but you don't think that water was toxic, do you? Are we going to lose our hair and grow humps?"

Shepard couldn't help but laugh at what he just heard, causing him to cough a bit as the small amount of water that remained in his lungs attempted to be expelled.

Letting his coughing subside, he sat up as he let the armor separate, looking forward to getting out of this wet armor and getting a hot meal in his stomach. "You wouldn't happen to know what's for dinner, would you?"

"We just survived getting hit with a few mini nukes and you're concerned about _dinner_?" Kasumi wasn't joking around with this question, it genuinely stumped her as she continued to lay down. "I'm not cooking anything."

"I'm not that dense." He walked over to his partner and scooped her into his arms, getting ready for the shuttle that would be arriving any second now.

Right on cue the shuttle arrived from the distance, two lone red dots at the front showing it's presence in the night until the glow of reverse thrusters kicked in, rippling the water Shepard and Kasumi had just pulled themselves from as it descended for pickup.

The shuttle door opened to see the other three members of the squad ready to assist the humans, Javik and Garrus with weapons drawn and scoping out the area. In the distance a few varren had noticed the commotion and had quietly made their way to within eyesight, but stayed away from the floating machine that caused the water to move towards the pack.

"Samara, if you could grab my armor please." Shepard politely requested as he stepped into the shuttle with Kasumi.

"Of course, Captain." A slight wave of her hand saw the armor he had removed being pulled into the shuttle and brought to the floor.

Shepard helped Kasumi gently into a seat as the doors closed, Cortez rising the shuttle and returning the way he came. Once the shuttle was out of sight it increased in speed as it took advantage of the darkness the evening provided.

"You're soaking wet with no weapons, a few bruises, and a thief with a broken ankle. I think I can see what happened." Garrus said as he looked at the two humans, tapping his visor off now that the mission was complete. Samara was busy covering Kasumi's ankle in a temporary expanding foam, a makeshift cast until the Chakwas could fix the injury.

"It's done." Shepard muttered, not wanting to look at anyone as he said those words, letting regret sink in as the shuttle leveled out on route back to the Shroud.

He had been told by the Council to resolve the situation by any means necessary, and he did. Wrex told him that Wreav was an unstable presence to the future of the krogan, but for the first time in a long, long time he felt like he was nothing more than a hitman. As Thane used to say, he was simply the gun that was aimed at the target.

His train of thought had led him to tune out everyone in the shuttle, until the sounds of an Australian accent filled the room, coming from Garrus' omnitool.

"-tain? Shepard, can you hear me?"

"It's alright Miranda, he's fine, he's just trailing off like he occasionally does." Garrus said into his comm.

"I'm here, Miranda. Mission was successful, let Wrex know Wreav's been taken care of. We're on our way back to pick you guys up."

Miranda took notice of the slight disgruntled tone of Shepard's voice, yet didn't push any further. "Understood. I'll have the squad prepared for departure."

"I'm surprised you don't want to stay and talk with Wrex some more, Shepard." Garrus said as he closed his omnitool.

"We aren't leaving the system yet, I just want us to get back to the Normandy for the night. Anyone who wants to stay on cozy Tuchanka is more than welcome to."

"He's hungry for dinner." Kasumi joked as she mumbled out the words, her eyes were closed as she showed the exhaustion that came from surviving a battle with a krogan warlord and having to swim with a hindered limb, on top of surviving the river rapids that a few mini nukes provided.

Samara smiled at the response. "I enjoyed our dinners aboard the Normandy, the telling of tales. It will be good to take part again."

"Just realize everything Lieutenant Vega says is a lie and you'll be in for quite the stories," Garrus replied as his mandibles twitched, the justicar nodding slightly as she understood what the turian meant.

Shepard had brought his mind back to the squad at hand. "You guys did a good job with the diversion, we never had a problem until we ran into Wreav."

"They never expected a thing. It makes me wonder exactly how big of a threat Wreav actually was."

Garrus' observation made Shepard's mind wonder as well, a sense of doubt creeping back in when it came to questioning his old krogan friend. It was definitely something that would be brought up in the morning.

Javik reached down to touch the discarded armor of Shepard and Kasumi's utility belt, allowing his ability to recall experiences through touch to take effect. After a brief pause his eyes refocused, turning his head to grin to the Captain and the thief.

"I commend you for your battle, Captain. The krogan was a fool to swing his weapon without knowing what you had planted. Hooded one, I am most impressed by your ability to place explosives."

Kasumi didn't respond, her body was slouched onto Samara's shoulder as she conceded to sleep. The justicar just looked at her Captain as the two shared a smile at the situation.

* * *

**Two Hours Later**

Shepard had just turned off the shower in his cabin, letting the heat massage his sore back as it healed from the abuse of the day. As he looked into the shower's mirror he saw the faint burns that his face received from his scrambled recon hood, their appearance being more apparent thanks to patches in his hair being singed off due to overloaded electric currents.

It had been a while since he had his hair cut down to his standard alliance trim, and that meant a call for Gabby to take a few minutes to clean it up. It was something he had had his engineer perform since the Collector mission, and she was quite skilled at being the Normandy's unofficial barber.

Stepping out of the bathroom with his towel around his waist he stepped down the stairs to his lone clothes drawer, pulling out his off duty clothes and quickly getting dressed. At this point anything felt better than the wet armor that was currently hanging to dry in the shuttle bay.

As he pulled his shirt down over his arms the sound of the cabin door sliding open announced the presence of his lover.

"I brought you dinner, thought you would enjoy a nice quiet meal after today," Miranda's smile made him return one in kind, thankful for the thoughtfulness she continued to exhibit.

Shepard sat down on the couch as he pulled two glasses from the nearby liquor cabinet, clearing table space for the tray that contained two covered bowls and a bottle of colony wine. "No ulterior motives, Miss Lawson?"

"Of course not. Wine simply goes well with spaghetti." She timed the removal of the covers with her words, revealing two bowls of steaming italian food, complete with (probably soy) meatballs.

"You'll have to pardon your Captain's silence for a few minutes as he enjoys the meal." Shepard immediately started to jump into the meal, trying to maintain more refined manners as two lovely eyes looked at him from her seat on the couch, curled up against the other armrest as she enjoyed her meal in a much more delicate, mature way.

The XO's eyes rolled as her Captain's face stayed centimeters from the bowel. She joked to herself that since he had been on Tuchanka for a few hours, he somehow had become a krogan, table manners and all.

Looking at the desk by her armrest she tapped a few dials to turn on her preprogrammed list of music, letting the soft sounds of harpsichords fill the cabin.

Miranda honored Shepard's wish as he quickly made his way through the meal, taking most of the slices of bread that accompanied the bowls. Oh, Shepard had offered slices to her, but she declined, knowing they would be better suited for his appetite. He made short work of the meal, placing the empty bowl down and picking up his glass of wine.

"Delicious."

"I agree, Oriana's improved." Miranda placed her finished bowl down a few moments later, her smaller portion finally being finished.

As she reached for her glass of wine on the table, she changed her position from the armrest to Shepard's body. Before they settled into a comfortable embrace, she wiped away a small trace of sauce on his cheek.

"Terrible manners, John."

"It was strategically placed."

"Of course it was. As was this..." Miranda's lips made contact with his own, what was supposed to be a quick touch of the lips became something longer and more pronounced. If the two hadn't been holding glasses it might have led to something much more desirable.

Miranda finally pulled away to regain her breath, allowing herself to rest on Shepard's chest. "Kasumi told me about how you helped her out as I went to get dinner, that was my appreciation."

"I would have done that for anyone, and I know Kasumi didn't have the same kind of upgrades I've been provided."

"Still, I've grown fond of that hooded mischief maker. Don't tell her I said that."

"What else did she tell you?"

"Nothing you didn't already tell Wrex an hour ago. The stupid krogan, nuking that cavern..."

Miranda's voice carried with it an anger that almost sounded like a mother scolding a child. "I can guarantee that the cave in they caused will divert all that water into the lake where those fools camped out, bloody bastards."

"Wrex can always send someone to clear out the rubble."

"Probably with another damn nuke."

Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at Miranda's musings, rubbing his hand down her arm in a repetitive manner.

They sat and drank their wine to the quiet hum of the ship and the concerto that filled the room, lost in the moment.

As the concerto finally concluded, Miranda whispered slightly into Shepard's shirt, "I'm sorry about last night."

"Hey, I meant what I said then, you have no reason to apologize."

"I feel like I should."

"Then I'm not accepting your apology. Save it for when I do something really stupid on a mission, it will cancel it out and you won't be able to scold me."

"I _don't_ scold." There was the resolute voice that Miranda so often used, and it's all Shepard wanted to hear at the moment, that confident aura coming back over her and pushing away her perceived weakness nearly twenty four hours prior.

Continuing to egg her on, he replied, "Scold, no. Lecture or chastise, absolutely."

The biotic pinch he expected arrived on time, and the two had hints of laughter run through them as they sat there, neither wanting to give in verbally, but both knowing what had been done.

Shepard leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I never want to hear you apologize, ok? I'm new to this kind of relationship as well, and I _know_ you looked into that in Cerberus, but it's ok to let our guard down in here. This is where we work it all out. Deal?"

"Deal." Miranda felt the top of her head being kissed as she said those words, finally letting go of all the guilt she had carried with her during the day as it flowed out of her body and replaced with the warm comfort of both the wine and Shepard's embrace.

And he was right that she knew about his past relationships: Shepard's longest relationship before her was Ashley Williams, two months that ended when Shepard died. Before that she had message archives of him dating women on the various planets he was assigned to for anywhere from five days to four weeks.

A trait of his that she discovered early on, before the SR-1 was destroyed, was that that if follow up messages were correct he always ended his relationships in person, never by the more common distance breakups by vid or message. He could have just as easily disappeared when his squad was transferred, something common among alliance soldiers for as long as civilization existed, and something Miranda had often done during her time with Cerberus.

Thinking back to it now struck a hint of jealousy within her, whereas three years ago she was impressed more by his ability to amicably end things of a more personal situation. _Maybe that's where he mastered his diplomatic tongue. _

Shepard broke the following silence after taking one long sip from his glass.

"See, let's use today's mission as an example. This is going to sound odd coming from a Spectre, but what I carried out today, it's staying in my head."

"Hmmm?" It was something Miranda didn't expect to hear, and the hum of her lips contained more surprise than a simple acknowledgment to continue talking.

"It's one thing to take down Wreav when he starts a fight, or was given the option to surrender and he refused, but this seems so much like a mob hit. Even worse is how the Council seemed to be fine with it."

"You know better than anyone, John, that the Council isn't the wisest group in the galaxy."

"This whole thing seemed seated more in revenge than the civil war Wrex and the Council were saying."

"Even if it was, why does it bother you so much?"

"Think back to Torfan."

"The alliance's retaliation for the Skyllian Blitz."

"They originally wanted me on that moon to participate in the attack, spearhead the effort. More for PR purposes than anything I guess, but Anderson was able to pull some strings and keep me in Rio for new recruit orientation. "

"Good. You seem to be at the tip of the spear all the ruddy time, human ideal or not." Miranda replied as she moved from their embrace to place the glasses of wine on the table, getting up in the process.

Rubbing the palms of his hands on his eyes, Shepard let out a sigh of frustration. "Maybe I'm thinking too much, or maybe I'm just looking for answers, I don't know."

"John, come here." Miranda reached for Shepard's arm, leading him to the bed with an extra sway in her steps.

Shepard's eyes followed her hips, but he continued to get this off his chest. "What I'm getting at is that Torfan was a damn slaughter, on both sides. Anderson knew that. We wiped out the batarian pirates but we lost nearly seventy percent of our own soldiers. That's not the way we should do things, mimicking turian strategies. I saw what happened to one of the commanding officers who fought on Torfan while we were chasing Saren, he just...broke."

"Major Kyle, I know," Miranda was gracefully slipping out of her clothes while they continued the conversation, "A non-biotic who got a cult of L2's to follow him, you were able to convince him to stand down."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know a hundred different ways to kill someone, but they have to make the first move."

"Oh? The alliance marine, taught to follow orders, is now questioning everything? What have I told you about beating yourself up, John."

"I'm never going to judge what you did before I met you, Miri, but-"

Miranda cut him off mid sentence, "Early on I did what I was told, it was necessary to move up the ranks and get to the more challenging, rewarding jobs, like saving the Council and bringing you back to life." He couldn't see but she held a smirk on her lips as she said those words.

"Did you ever question why?"

"No." The blunt answer was neither defensive nor congratulatory.

"All my targets were former convicts or had enough evidence to warrant their termination. Batarian slavers on Omega, an asari red sand dealer on Ilium who preyed on naive human colonists visiting the planet, simple assassinations in places that authorities wouldn't think twice about investigating. Looking back now I think the Illusive Man made sure that I was in the dark about some of the more...questionable things that Cerberus did, in order to keep me loyal."

Miranda scoffed a bit at those words left her mouth, she was now positive that that was the Illusive Man's real goal. In her mind she cursed herself for being so loyal, knowing she had accused Shepard of the same thing with regards to the alliance when they originally met.

She then cursed herself for still feeling that she had to choose her words correctly about what Cerberus did, as though she still agreed with their actions. Not after what they did to Shepard, to her, to those poor souls on Horizon.

Placing her folded clothes in the side of her drawer reserved for gently worn garments, she went to unhook her bra, her heart momentarily jumping but relaxing as she felt the warm, coarse hands of Shepard unhook the bra for her, lightly kissing her neck as she felt more of his skin on her back.

She turned around as she let her bra fall to the ground, looking at Shepard in the eyes as he kept her close.

"If you trust Wrex, don't think about what you had to do. Any guilt should fall on him. He knows the kind of person you are, and everyone else on this ship knows. If they had any objections to the mission they would have told you, but they knew he was a completely unstable element to the krogan."

Her hands grasped his two shoulders, prompting him to look her right in the eyes. "And deep down, I think you know that too, because I can't see you doing anything you didn't think was the right choice."

"But the only thing unstable about Wreav was his argument about breeding rights. Anderson chose to stay and fight on Earth and give us a chance to win the day, and I gathered support across the galaxy. If he argued that Earth should be rebuilt first, that doesn't make him wrong, does it? Just a difference of priorities."

"John, you knew Anderson for ten years. In regards to that hellhole below us you only saw a small portion of Wreav while you tried to implement the genophage cure. If his damn brother says he's a problem, the same krogan whose own father tried to kill him, I would take his word on this." Despite their intimacy, Miranda raised her voice in a very argumentative tone.

It was a tone that surprised Shepard as he sat at the foot of the bed, still looking at her eyes with a slight notion of worry, not knowing if she was more upset about his questioning of his friend or knowing how Wrex's own family issues related to her own that caused her ire.

Miranda's eyes narrowed with a slight amount of scorn. "Don't give me that look, I spoke with Wrex and Bakara while you were en route," She straddled Shepard on the bed, "And no, it has nothing to do with my own father trying to kill me."

She pointed her finger into Shepard's chest repeatedly, half playful, half serious. "That woman is the damn key to making this whole thing work, and I want her children to be safe. That can only be done if no one gets in Wrex's way."

Finished with her assault by index finger, Miranda ran her fingers through Shepard's growing hair, fingers stopping along the areas where apparent.

"And make Daniels trim your hair tomorrow, you need to look like a Captain, damn it."

Placing his hands on her hips, Shepard just stared at her with a blank expression, his head slightly tilted forward. It was something he had done with her in all their time before when she got like this, knowing the few things that were her emotional triggers (family, children, trust) had all inadvertently been pulled into this conversation. Even if she said the familial similarities didn't bother her, he knew they did.

He watched over the coming minute as her face went from her most commonly seen annoyed look, followed by a hint of anger that she _knew_ that he was waiting her out, followed by a quick glance of her eyes looking away in embarrassment, all topped off with a light smile on her face to know that she had regained her composure.

She leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.

"You ass, you do that so well."

Feigning ignorance, he carried a confused look on his face. "Do what? You made your point and I accept your insights. I was just processing them."

Shepard removed one of his hands from the small of her back and tapped his head. "When a brain isn't working for two years and just survived getting fried it kind of takes a while to comprehend things."

Biting her lip slightly, another look emerged on Miranda's face; that undeniably sexy, mischievous look that only he had been privileged, the lone soul among billions to see that face.

"Probably more concussive trauma from hitting those rocks down there. And we just can't have you falling asleep now, you need to remain conscious for a few hours."

Hearing those words caused a grin to appear on Shepard's face as well, but before he could make a move to pull her underneath him Miranda pushed him down on the bed, the two lightly laughing as their lips met yet again while they tumbled across the sheets.

**An interesting thought came to mind about the series as I was typing this, in that Shepard really doesn't just kill someone who really hadn't done anything yet. You have choices where you can stand by and let people die, but whenever Shepard pulls his or her gun on someone it's almost certain that they did something to provoke you. **

**In that sense, ****we**** know about Wreav if Wrex isn't there, but with Wrex alive all we know he's just a regular angry krogan who is a bit justified in his response to getting a cure for the genophage, they're a dime a dozen. It was also fun to draw a slight parallel between Anderson and Shepard for humanity. It just seemed like something interesting to introduce as another Wrex loyalty thing, and was an attempt to kind of be like a Morinth situation if this was actually in-game.**

**Anyway, too much rambling. Let me know if there's a character you think needs more spotlight on them, I like putting them all in these smaller situations. And I really want to give thanks out to ****all**** the reviews, comments and follows, it's great to see people enjoying the story as much as I enjoy putting it out there.**


	21. Friends

21: Friends

The morning routine for the Normandy was uneventful, something that was rare these past weeks as they returned to duty. It's weird to call it a success when only one person on the squad has any kind of major injury, but that was life under Shepard's command.

Rested and fed, the squad found themselves in the shuttle bay, many lined up right outside their lockers as they pulled out their preferred equipment. Others were simply down there for conversation, not planning to head down to Tuchanka today.

Kasumi was the only one not fit for duty, the cast on her left foot showing she was out of commission for the next few days. It didn't stop the thief from sitting on one of the various crates next to the shuttle, swinging her now club-like foot with reckless abandon into the crate she was sitting on, letting the vibrations interfere with Zaeed's weapons check as he placed his weapons against the wall of supply crates before he attached them to his back.

"Girl, you knock my Indra over and I swear I will make you a real ghost."

"Please, all I have to do is hide your cigars and you'll be calling a truce immediately."

Blowing a puff of smoke into Kasumi's face, Zaeed looked at her as if to call her bluff. "You do that and I tell the doc how you're treating her bloody work. You'll crush the poor dame's feelings, knowing that you would do such a thing."

"Kasumi, you wouldn't do such a thing, would you?"

Oriana's voice caused the two to break away from their (mock?) faceoff as she tried to push herself up onto the same level of crates where Kasumi sat, looking to join the conversation. Despite having Miranda's perfect genes she did not share with her the same years of training, getting stuck and unable to lift herself on top of the crate.

"Oh fer' cryin out loud, that's only two meters! It's like we're babysittin' bleedin' newborns..."

Zaeed showed frustration, yet he walked over to help push Oriana up onto the crate, giving the younger Lawson a nod as she thanked him.

"Yeah, Twin, you gotta be like your sis, get to exercising and pulling your weight if you want to stay aboard this ship." James quipped as he walked over to get closer to the shuttle, his blue combat armor being offset by the weight of his Claymore, Krysae, and Revenant.

"Twin? That's the best you could come up with James? I'm insulted."

"Hey, mama, it ain't like that..." James was on the defensive now, regretting joining the conversation.

"Oh really, Lieutenant? Care to elaborate on what it is like?" Kasumi smelled blood in the water despite having no dog in the fight, just looking to have the man wither under the pressure.

Oriana continued. "Everyone gets good nicknames. Look..."

She pointed her finger over to where Garrus and Ashley were talking with Javik, Liara and Tali, stopping their conversation as they saw Oriana point to them. "Scars, Blues, Eyes, Freckles, Sparks..."

She then pointed to the group in front of her. "Hoods, Guns..."

She pointed to Samara, sitting to the side in her meditative stance, a blue glow surrounding her. "To be determined..."

Finally she pointed to the elevator as Shepard and Miranda exited onto the bay as they headed to Shepard's locker to suit him up, Miranda donning his N7 jacket. "And last but not least Loco and _Curves_."

"Curves, huh?" Ashley slapped the back of James' head as she and the others in her group walked over to talk, waiting for their Captain.

Vega exaggerated the severity of the blow, keeping his head down and his hands over his head in case another slap was on its way. "Come on blues, that's how I fly." He then turned his head to look at Oriana, a confused anger on his face, "and how did _you_ find out about that nickname?"

Liara wondered. "I did notice you never gave Grunt a nickname."

"How can I top his real name? It's perfect for him!"

Even Javik chimed in, something rare to see for those who had fought with him during the war. "Lieutenant, your 'nicknames' are very unoriginal and simply take a common truth from the people you identify. They are simply another line to get in the way and confuse others."

"I don't even get why I'm 'Sparks'..." Tali added.

James finally buckled under the pressure. "Alright, you know what? Different races teaming up on the brave human in this shuttle bay is not what is supposed to be happening at this time!"

Garrus pounced at the opening Vega set up. "But we're not teaming up on Shepard, we're teaming up against _you_."

"Hah! That's a good one you turian prick!"

Zaaed couldn't help but slap Garrus on the shoulder, proud of the insult he had just heard. The others in the area had a good laugh at James' expense who had to stand there and take it, a slight grin crossing his face as he accepted the joke.

"Alright team, listen up," Shepard had finally arrived in front of his squad, everyone trying to hide their smiles at the joke they just heard in order to give their now armored Captain the attention he deserved.

"We're heading back down to Tuchanka this morning to finalize a few things, maybe see if Grunt is coming back with us. Anyone who wants to hitch a ride for the visit can, otherwise return to your stations. Garrus, Ashley, Liara, Tali, follow me."

The five separated from the others, Miranda knowing what Shepard was planning. It was the original squad, and it could only mean one conversation.

"It's about Wrex," Shepard said to the four as they stood in the far corner of the bay, away from both the squad and the Normandy crew.

Ashley, Liara and Tali looked confused at the mention of their friend's name, but Garrus had a feeling this was coming.

"You four have been with me from the beginning, from all our different starting points. You were also down there talking to his clan and Bakara, so you all have enough information to go on. I want your honest opinions: do you think Wrex can keep the krogan in line?"

The way Shepard carried his voice made this conversation not like the numerous other chats he had with his friends. This was the way he sounded when he had to stare down the krogan leader on Virmire, threatening him to back off allying with Saren over the cloned krogan.

His head started from right to left, beginning with Ashley. She was the one who was willing to shoot Wrex years ago if he attempted to attack her then Commander.

"No, Skipper, I don't. He might keep them peaceful on Tuchanka, but once they off the planet and expand, it's over." She had given a response that showed no hesitation in her words, the alliance history that ran through her veins wouldn't allow for anything less.

Shepard nodded, turning his eyes next to Liara. She was still surprised by what she heard from her friend. "Yes, John. Even with the problems of krogan expansion I believe the new generation of krogans will be for the better. I've got hundreds of more years to make _sure_ it works." Despite the years of being an information agent and the now dubious title of Shadow Broker, Liara was allowing her emotions and the best of intentions win the day. He couldn't blame her either, it's something he was accustomed to doing as long as they knew each other.

He didn't have to look at Tali before she gave her opinion, an arm on Liara's shoulder. "I'm with Liara, they can make it work. When I was on Tuchanka more than a year ago with you I would have thought otherwise, but I like what I see down there. You gave the rachni _two_ chances, give the krogan _one_." The quarians hands indicated her point, using the fewer fingers that were available to her.

"Fair enough. And you, Garrus."

The turian looked his closes friend in the eyes, a slight twitch of his mandibles being his tell. "No."

"Garrus..." Tali's muffled voice was half stunned, half pleading.

"Tali, this is my honest opinion. And it's not about Wrex, it's about him keeping the others in line. I think Wrex will do everything he can but there's just too many krogan who are going to recognize their new power in the coming years."

Liara shook her head, "On the plus side humanity is now around to help enforce borders and laws. Even the quarians would be more willing to help now."

"Just another species to be hit by asteroids. Or should we uplift the yahg this time to fight the krogan? Because that's what's going to happen."

Shepard held up his hands, not wanting to have an argument between his friends so soon to disembarking planetside.

"Thank you, everyone. It's a moot point at the moment, the krogan are back to their virile state. It's a choice I would have made again in order to win the war, I just needed to hear some other voices before I speak to Wrex."

Ashley, Garrus, and Tali nodded to their Captain as they headed to the shuttle, Liara excused herself and made her way to the elevator, more than likely checking her information network.

Shepard couldn't help but watch Liara head to the elevator, her eyes closed and taking a deep breath as she pushed the call button. He had been around her enough to know she was trying to process the opinions of her friends, running the scenarios in her head at though they were pieces on a chessboard, which scenario will win out.

As she stepped into the elevator Shepard walked back to Miranda who was waiting at Shepard's locker, a few weapons out for him to carry downside. They weren't what he was expecting.

"A Predator, Avenger, and a Scimitar. Did I kick you in my sleep or something?"

"This is all theatrics, John, it emphasizes your strength. John Shepard, the first human Spectre, is so dangerous bog standard arms are all he needs. Krogan respect strength."

She pointed her thumb from her free hand behind her back to the shuttle, "And look at James, he's loaded for bear as though he _is_ a krogan; you're just balancing him out."

"That's very zen coming from you."

"Oh hush, or you'll be the one balancing yourself on the couch this evening."

Shepard's shocked look allowed for a light laugh from his XO. She lightly brushed off some of the remaining dirt from yesterday's mission and brushed her cheek against his.

"Now go, play tough guy, I'll send your 'reports' to the Council." Miranda used her air quotes to poke fun at his rediscovered inability to finish reports.

Another quick kiss landed on Miranda's forehead as Shepard headed off. "You're the best."

Miranda just rolled her eyes as they separated, seeing Oriana come up to her as they waited for the elevator.

* * *

"Shepard! Perfect timing! come here, drink!"

Wrex's loud voice boomed through the building as he saw his friend arrive once again. In his hands were two glasses of Ryncol.

"Looks like you have good news to be drinking that early." Shepard said wryly.

"Of course! Bakara delivered her first clutch a few hours ago, they're being warmed by our time honored incubators."

Shepard took the glass from his friend and took two sips but went no further. Ryncol was terrible, potent stuff, a drink that made non-krogan feel like they were already feeling a hangover as the liquor was being downed.

"Congratulations are also in order then, I take it Grunt was able to absorb Wreav's allies into Urdnot?"

"Had to put down a few of them, but they got the picture. They were told that I have the ability to strike from anywhere in the galaxy, that death is my ally for feeding the Void."

He dropped the glass down with a thud as he pointed to the Spectre "All thanks to you, no one saw who did it, so my legend grows." He quickly poured more of the green alcohol into his glass and took another gulp.

"That's good to hear, Wrex. Hopefully this keeps others in line."

"If not, I've always got you to help me out. Isn't that right, Shepard?" He let out a loud laugh, enhanced by the alcohol that could be smelt off his breath.

The Spectre held up his hands, surprised by what he just heard, but was keeping a cordial face. "Whoa now, Wrex, I didn't sign on to be your enforcer all the time, I was just doing you a favor. It's all on you now."

Wrex was a little confused by what he just heard, although it could have been the effects of all the alcohol finally kicking in.

"Wait, what are you getting at, Shepard?"

Still trying to keep things upbeat, yet feeling a change in the atmosphere between the two, Shepard did his best to keep things simple and to the point.

"If you ever need to bounce ideas off me, I'm always available. I'm even working on getting you a QEC to make things easier. But I'm not going to be able to be your secret weapon for taking out your enemies. We just fought a big, costly war, lots of others need help out there."

Wrex's words slowly got less jovial, more cold, his reptilian eyes narrowing. "Are you abandoning your friend?"

"Never. We've fought and bled together, you're just as much my krantt as Grunt is. And if you ever need to talk things over, my line is always open. But it's up to the krogan to help themselves now."

"I have to say I'm insulted, Shepard." There was no joking at this point.

Shepard closed the distance the between the two as they stared each other down. Looking up ever so slightly, his stern face showed that he wasn't joking either.

"I helped cure the genophage because I believe in you. Bakara by your side made that decision easier. I know you're going to get a seat on the Council and I hope you choose someone who can do you proud. But I can't spend the rest of my life keeping _your_ hands clean to avoid any political problems for the krogans."

The two continued their thousand meter stares at one another, neither blinking or moving. It was disrupted by a slightly muffled voice coming from behind the Captain.

"Captain Shepard, I will make it my goal in this life so that you never regret your decision." Wrex looked away as the human turned his head slightly to see Bakara coming towards them, draped in shawls that seemed to have some historical significance for her species.

"Bakara, congratulations on your new clutch." He showed a warm smile that he felt was being reciprocated underneath her veil. He walked over to shake her hand, "and I want you to know that despite my conversation with Wrex here, I will do what I can to make sure your children and every other newborn are welcomed into the galaxy."

"I understand that, Captain, and I thank you. Wrex might feel upset for the moment but he knows that you're right. We need to figure this out on our own, intervention stifles our ability to become better." It wasn't mentioned but the female was clearly indicating the salarian influence millennia before.

"I'm not feeling betrayed, just angry that you wouldn't help me see this through."

Before Bakara could respond, Shepard turned around and walked back to him while speaking, his finger pointed right at his friend's face. "You know that was never agreed upon, do _not_ add that to the conversation."

Wrex slammed his hands down on the concrete table, his voice rising in anger "Isn't this what you wanted, Shepard, to be the great Spectre that brings peace to the galaxy?!"

Shepard slammed his fists on the table in response. "How can I do that if I have to babysit you all the time?!"

What started as a simple talk was escalating further than either wanted, yet both refused to relent.

Shepard continued, his voice an angry whisper. "You told the Council this planet was on the verge of a civil war, yet from what I saw yesterday it was nothing more than normal krogan factions fighting, the same type of bickering that you could easily handle. You cried wolf, and it's going to be harder for me to trust you in the future, and we sure as hell have other places that need priority."

For a moment the confrontation eased as Wrex looked puzzled by the phrase, the human letting his krogan friend know what it meant.

"Human saying, meaning a false alarm. Future warnings don't get followed up on with the same response, even if they truly warrant a large presence."

"I told you, I wanted to be around-"

Shepard waved his hand in front of him, calling off Wrex, "Don't give me that crap about the clutch, Wrex."

"You would do the same!" Wrex roared, the issue clearly being a touchy one.

"I've seen how you are with that Cerberus agent, you needed something to fight for and now you have it, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if your first child was about to be born!"

"I spent this damn war separated from her because sometimes you have to put others ahead of your own wants and desires!" Shepard was usually able to be a stone wall when it came to others verbally attacking Miranda, but something about how this argument took a turn for the personal slipped through his defenses.

Smugly, Wrex countered, his eyes looking down at Shepard's angry face. "Well then, human, you need to check your principles."

"My principles are the only damn reason your clutch is here right now!"

Wrex responded with a light purple glow, his biotics building in his hands. Not allowing a species that had hundreds of kilograms on top of biotic power to get a head start in the coming fight, Shepard's right hand started to flash orange as a hardlight construct was being generated, an omniblade.

Before this could be carried any further a shotgun blast echoed in the room, the two turned around to see that Bakara stood their with her Wraith pointing at the ceiling. Two guards came running into the room at the sound of fire, but stopped when they saw who had fired it. Apparently this seemed to be a common trait among krogan. A half moment later Garrus arrived, rifle drawn, but left along with the krogan guards after sharing a quick glance with his Shepard.

"**Enough**. Wrex, go check on the clutch, let me speak with the Captain."

The krogan leader walked away, his biotics disappearing but his gaze focusing on Shepard for as long as he could maintain eye contact before leaving the room. As he did so Shepard could hear the krogan grunting some unknown response to Garrus and Tali.

Bakara walked up to the Spectre, removing a shawl as she made her way to the open balcony, taking in the sun that shone behind the gently blowing red sand. Shepard followed suit.

"Wrex's ego will heal, along with his livers. He won't say it but this has become harder than he imagined it would be."

"I understand, I was just led to believe I would be landing my people into another war zone when it turned out to be nothing of the sort."

"And this troubles you, Captain," Bakara said as she held a hand out past the balcony, letting the few grains of sand that came their way touch her appendage.

"The galaxy is barely holding together, Earth and Palaven are still a mess and I had to resolve a fight between brothers. If Wrex asked for my help eighteen months ago, fine. After the war though, we'd be better at policing supply routes or checking in on colonies."

"Understandable. Wrex had also led me to believe Wreav was an imminent threat. Believe me, he had to join the Void, and we're much better off without him here. But yes, Aralakh Company could have handled this themselves. We aren't blind to the damage Earth and Palaven received."

Shepard pinched his brow. "I've been a little on edge myself. My first mission after destroying the reapers didn't go as planned, and might have led to a very serious problem down the line."

"Grunt told us of these adjutant creatures. It seems there's always some new enemy out there in the galaxy. Rachni, reapers, adjutants..." Bakara looked down at Shepard, seeing the smile in her face "...humans."

Shepard had a small laugh, allowing the tension of the past few minutes to pass. "At least you let your humor be more noticeable."

"I spoke with Miranda yesterday, I found her as interesting as you. As she said herself, humanity's future will be bright with your children."

Shepard didn't know how to respond to that, wondering if Bakara misspoke, not knowing of Miranda's infertility. Still trying to keep it a secret, Shepard parsed his words. "I think we might have to take a different path when it comes to that."

"Pardon the intimacy of this question, Captain, but what makes you say that? She was talking about it as though she was just cured of the genophage. Trust me, I've seen that same face on many females across this planet in recent months."

Shepard was now confused, slowly bringing the two back from the balcony in case he was hearing something wrong with the wind blowing. "Miranda has something blocking her ability to have children."

"Had. Or should I say, will have had. A gift from Mordin that he was working on while the Normandy labs ran genophage tests. He wasn't able to finish it, but given time it should be resolved, given her credentials."

The revelation was still not connecting with Shepard, even though all the pieces fit.

Bakara placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder as she tried to make him get out of his head. "I think it's been enough time, why don't you say your goodbyes to Wrex, he should have calmed down by now."

The Spectre nodded and made his way out of the room, his eyes darting around as though he could distract himself from what he just heard. Making his way down the hall into the large chamber he passed krogan guards who sneered at him much like many mercenaries of their kind had done, respect for the human being put aside as they heard the argument moments earlier.

Inside the chamber their were four separate clutches of eggs, each representing the various females who were quietly watching their areas, all but one where Wrex sat. He was watching the red heat emitting from the top of an ancient metal cylinder, something akin to a krogan incubator.

Shepard noticed the females were also wearing shawls similar to Bakara, the connection being made that it was something that must have signified a female delivering her eggs.

He walked over to the concrete block that Wrex found himself sitting at, hearing a humming tone emanating from the warlord. Shepard looked at the clutch of dozens of eggs, their size being similar to that of the Earth bird Ostrich. Many were an olive green color, a few having brown spots on their shells, those being placed a tiny bit closer to the warmth of the cylinder than the others.

"What's the significance of moving those eggs a bit closer?" Shepard asked, trying to break the silence between the friends.

"By our history, those are the ones that have a smaller chance of successfully hatching. Before they would be discarded immediately, but with the genophage cured they might still have a chance of not being stillborn. So, a bit closer to the heat."

"That's rather compassionate."

"I just thought of it." Wrex's voice was flat, much more subdued than Shepard had heard in months.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"I am too."

"I still stand by what I said, I can't help you out with matters of krogan politics, but I'm always available to talk to."

"It's alright, my mistake for thinking you would have nothing better to do but help out on Tuchanka. Wishful thinking and all that."

Wrex held his hands to his face, trying to cover an agitated sigh. "I recently received information from one of our engineers-turned-planner. If the clutches hatch at a fifty percent success rate, Tuchanka will run out of food in ten years, even sooner if more krogan hatch. That's going to lead to more unrest if we can't get the Council to open up new planets or remove the no-fly zone."

"Send me that information, I'll pass that on to the alliance, see what our colonies can do to plan ahead. It's one way to charter trade with the krogan."

"Sure, thanks." Wrex had a small smile, but his face was largely unchanged, along with his monotone voice.

"If you need Grunt to stay around, it's no problem."

"I'd appreciate it, Shepard. He's grown in leadership skills under you, time to see if he can keep that up while I push out from here. He also has some breeding to catch up on."

"Just make sure he gets it out of his system before he comes back aboard the Normandy."

That joke brought a hearty laugh from Wrex, who stood up to face his friend face to face. Only this time, there was anger from neither.

He stuck his hand out, Shepard clutching his arm, the two shaking so hard it would leave an indentation through the armor.

"Take care, Wrex. I'll be back soon."

"I'll hold you to that, Shepard." Before he let go, Wrex used his free hand to point to the one egg that had a more black hue to its shell compared to the others in Bakara's clutch, being one of the eggs that was not close to the incubator.

"That was the first egg from Bakara. History says those who emerge from dark colored shells are future warlords. That's a Shepard."

* * *

"Jeff, are any of the ships in orbit attempting to contact us?"

_"Negative, XO. All channels are open."_

Joker's response puzzled Miranda as she sat in her new office, confused by the flashing channels that had come and gone from the screens in front of her. By the time she went to activate the incoming message it disappeared.

The Normandy had undergone a complete diagnostic while docked at the Citadel, in record breaking turnaround time to boot. That one kernel of information is what made Miranda wonder if it really was a thorough diagnostic. Tali herself had been keeping a list of details as she helped to repurpose various programs, but there was nothing concrete in her findings.

_"Captain Shepard is onboard, XO Lawson is relieved."_ Joker's announcement through the frigate caught Miranda off guard. She knew he was in orbit to return and made plans to meet him in the shuttle bay, but was lost in thought about what had occurred.

The XO exited through the doors, bringing up her omnitool to contact Adams in engineering.

"Adams, when Tali gets back can you two look over the drive core and thruster data, make sure it's all running to specifications."

_"Er, yes ma'am. I haven't noticed any abnormalities since we last left the Citadel."_

Adams was one of the best engineers in the alliance, along with Ken and Gabby. Tali rounded out the best squad for the best ship, and if anything was slipping past them, it had to be something new and previously unknown.

The elevator door opened to find Shepard standing alone, waiting to head up to his cabin. His face didn't show the same doubt and pessimistic pondering that had filled the lines on his face over the past few days, so at least his talk with Wrex seemed to go well.

Miranda stepped in to join him up to the cabin before heading down to talk to Tali, allowing the quarian a few more minutes of getting back to her station.

"Hey, you." Shepard smiled at Miranda's more open sign of affection as he allowed the two to embrace each other for the few seconds the lift needed to move an additional floor up.

"Grunt's not going to be with us for a bit." Shepard quietly said as his hands rested just below the small of her back.

"I can understand why after visiting Tuchanka yesterday."

"Well, that and helping Wrex. I told him we wouldn't be able to be able to keep interfering in krogan politics."

Miranda raised one of her soft, black eyebrows at what she just heard. "Why do I get a sense that you didn't phrase it exactly like that?"

"It wasn't all that bad, Bakara was there to keep us in line."

The elevator arrived at Shepard's cabin, but as soon as Miranda stepped off she was taken off her feet, surprised at what had just occurred.

"Ass! Put me down, it's just noon."

"It's now 2200 hours, Captain's orders." Shepard joked as started to peck away at her neck as he carried her into the cabin. Despite her protests she made no attempt to remove her hands from around his neck.

"Mmmmm...wait. John, I need to speak with Tali about something, put me down."

Miranda gasped as Shepard did what he was told, only he tossed her onto the bed, finding himself on top of her a second later. The two started fighting for control, their lips never separating as their bodies rolled, often finding themselves both on their sides showing an equal battle of willpower.

Miranda broke away finally, licking her slightly swollen lips. "Where is this coming from?"

"It's a good day, that's all."

"And I bet that ryncol on your breath has nothing to do with it."

"Miss Lawson, I am _shocked_ by that accurate accusation."

As Shepard and Miranda continued to enjoy their bodies merging together, slowly losing their clothing over time, the voice of Joker filled the cabin.

_"Captain, Tali is requesting the Normandy head for Haestrom. She seems pretty adamant about it."_

The shock of the request caused the two to stop their current carnal embrace, Shepard giving a deep sigh as he tried mightily to compose himself. Before he could say anything Miranda, who was on top of him, spoke, looking at Shepard with a smirk as she spoke. "Head for Haestrom, Jeff."

_"Aye aye, ma'am."_

The two returned to their previous activity, but a few seconds later were interrupted yet again.

_"XO, do you want us to make the relay jumps through the Horsehead Nebula or bounce from Athena to the Crescent?"_

"Crescent, Joker." Shepard spoke, his eyes relating his thoughts to Miranda that she responded to with a smirk. _He knows what we're doing._

_"Coordinates set, ETA 18 hours. Oh, just so you guys know, Tali's heading up to speak with you. So, you know, be presentable."_

The Spectre let loose a groan, an adolescent reaction to what had just occurred. Miranda leaned in close as her hands pressed on his bare chest, "Delayed gratification, John." She then took herself off his body and quickly replaced her lost articles of clothing.

Shepard did the same, his body finally calming down as he pulled his N7 shirt back on, hearing the door chime as Tali arrived.

"Come in," Shepard's voice unlocked the door, allowing Tali to burst in, her hands moving around like crazy as she walked up to Miranda, who had placed herself at Shepard's desk, giving no indication of the events that were trying to unfold moments ago.

"Miranda, block Joker from the channel."

"He's been off for the past minute." A concerned look crossed her face, not used to having their pilot be cause for caution. "Where are you going with this, Tali?"

She finally stopped throwing her hands around, making both point directly at Shepard, who was making his way up the stairs.

"EDI. I think EDI is on Haestrom."

**What's that, a cliffhanger? **

**I'll probably come back and clean this chapter up a bit, not really that happy with it, I just wanted to move forward.  
**


	22. Memory Dump

22: Memory Dump

The XO's new office was cramped as it was filled with many of Shepard's squad, including three of the four Normandy engineers. The table that once held a summit meeting of the turian, krogan, salarian and human species now found itself being covered with a multitude of datapads, on top of screens hovering above the table.

Miranda had given her seat to Tali, allowing the quarian to shift through the data at a faster pace. She had allowed herself to stand between the engineer and Shepard, who took his spot at the corner of the desk, hands bracing on the edges of the table as he tried to understand what Tali had just run through.

"So, from the beginning..."

Shepard swiped one of his hands on a datapad, bringing up a map of the Milky Way galaxy. As he pressed another button a red dot appeared at the Local Cluster, lines connecting to nearby relays and rippling out red waves.

"The Crucible fires, it destroys everything with reaper tech."

"Except you." Tali added.

"Except me." Shepard pushed another button on the datapad and showed a small triangles dashing from the local cluster.

"Admiral Hackett orders all ships that can achieve FTL to evacuate from the Sol System, rendezvousing at the Horsehead Nebula, the nearest location with minimal reaper presence."

"Right, but the Normandy got caught up in the wave, which somehow accelerated us all the way to the Ismar Frontier against our will." The map then shows a wayward triangle flying across the map.

Garrus raised a lone finger straight up to interject. "From what we understand, any ship in FTL that was hit by the wave got shot across the galaxy. Not damaged like we were, just thrown across because of their drive core."

"We still don't know what happened, maybe we never will, since we don't even have the chance to replicate the whole thing again." Adams said as he looked at a datapad in his hands. "Not that I'm saying we bring back the Reapers, mind you."

Shepard pressed one more button "Anyway, the Normandy goes offline, and crashes on Zorya. Completely out of power, and EDI is gone when the ship is repowered."

"Correct. But here's where it gets interesting."

Tali showed an image of the geth AI code that was enhanced on Rannoch.

"This is what the geth were able to achieve because of Legion's sacrifice; a sentient, independent AI. In many ways this is what EDI had developed over the course of the war as well, but unlike the geth she did not get there based solely on an uploaded reaper code."

"But the did have reaper technology built into her." Miranda stated.

"Technology, but the actual processing was pretty much all based on human and stolen quarian research."

Shepard looked at his old squad, "She spawned from that rogue VI on Luna Base, that's more her genesis."

Ashley crossed her arms as she shifted her weight. "So instead of getting a mind upgrade like the geth, she had received something more like putting her brain in a shiny new body."

"Correct, Ash."

After being complimented on the comparison, Ashley smirked as she looked over to Shepard, looking to draw the parallels, which he responded to with his own smile.

To illustrate Tali's point the red glow of tendrils emitting from the center of the image was diminished, showing more of a blue hue to it.

"Thanks to Joker unshackling her nearly a year ago and taking over Eva Core's body on Mars, her processes were well past this point, as her blue box programming was made to continuously evolve."

Another image showed up on the map, this time showing the runtime processes of the Normandy from the time it left the Sol System as it headed to Noveria. It was on a constant sped up loop, showing a number that started in the millions slowly dwindling down over the thirty minutes that the Normandy was in FTL travel before the red wave finally caught up to the frigate.

"What you're looking at is, in essence, EDI abandoning ship. She must have realized that the reapers were being targeted, which meant the Normandy along with her servers and the IFF. She knew the geth would also be attacked based on their upgrades, so she channeled what we would loosely call her conscious to available comm buoys. But she did so in such a rapid manner there might be some loss of memory, it was a completely last ditch effort to stay alive."

"But, EDI _is_ the Normandy." Adams said, remembering his conversation with Dr. Chakwas months ago.

"Right, but an AI has the ability to prioritize preservation functions. If a geth platform was mortally injured they could upload their programs away from the mobile platform if the opportunity arises."

The squad looked at Tali with blank stares. Even Miranda and Liara were having trouble keeping up. Letting loose a muffled sigh from her respirator, she started using her hands to mime her explanation further.

"Think of this as a mind transplant, similar to Javik and his memory shards. There, the memories are stored into some physical form of memory, but the body is still here, living, breathing. EDI's case is kind of the opposite. Her body is still here, almost left to run on a life support system, everything that made EDI EDI was spreading out across the galaxy."

To accompany her point an overlay on the map showed light green lines bouncing in a path to the Far Rim.

Liara held a hand up as though she was trying to simplify the answer even more. "What you're saying is that EDI spread herself out among the extranet in order to avoid being completely destroyed?"

"Correct, she had nothing to lose and it was an incredible longshot but I think she might have made it work."

Samara's stoic face remained unchanged, but she put to words what others were thinking. "This all seems to bend the reality of the situation."

Miranda nodded in agreement but surprisingly brought levity to Tali's theory. "I think much of what the Normandy has done in recent years has bent reality, it wouldn't be the first time."

"What made me realize something might be up were three things. One, configuring the VIs to take over the more mundane tasks aboard the Normandy showed some functions were still there, hidden behind other programs, not completely destroyed like what we thought after crashing on Zorya."

"Like a ghost in the machine," Adams chimed in.

Miranda divulged what she saw earlier in the day. "It explains why I've been seeing alerts for messages arrive in Shepard's account and when I access the system diagnostics, only for them to disappear." At this point the others weren't surprised at the former operative having access to their Captain's messages. "It must have been some kind of delayed message EDI left behind for us."

Attention was turned back to Tali; everyone was with her so far, and she held up another finger on her right hand. "Two, Noveria. Synthetic Insights mentioned all their experimental AI systems were taken offline after the blast. But why would that happen if they had no access to reaper technology?"

"Wait," Liara said, "She was able to survive on Noveria with the extra processing capability, why didn't she wait there?"

"The Normandy was offline for more than a week, on the other side of the galaxy. Not to mention the other AI processes she might have absorbed while on Noveria, she might not be in complete control of her self."

Traynor made mention of something few in the room remembered. "Think about the Cerberus robot she repurposed at the beginning of the war, just fighting that took the ship offline, and that was EDI at 100%."

Miranda looked up at Shepard with wider eyes, never hearing about this part of EDI's new portable body. Shepard smiled as he looked down at her, simply shrugging his shoulders. "Unshackling damned AIs, who knew?"

"Traynor's right though, you have what more than likely was the most critical part of EDI's mind, diluted, unable to find her physical self for days. And that's before you factor in other AI systems, no matter how developed they were in terms of sentience."

"A cause for a personality disorder." Garrus stated.

"Bingo."

"So EDI spreads out where she can, essentially shedding weight in terms of other processes and certain memories to stay alive, finds safety before she can regroup, but figuratively gets a bump on the head and can't find her way back to the Normandy. Why Haestrom?"

Shepard's question caused everyone to turn their heads to refocus on Tali, all done in a unanimous motion that would have been humorous to anyone not privy to the details of the meeting. The quarian's thumb stuck out from the palm of her hand.

"Three: I've been in contact with the flotilla in the past two days, a few scout ships were checking for geth activity in previously occupied territory and were fired on as they entered Haestrom's atmosphere."

An image of the yellow planet showed up, rotating in full 3D at the center of the table.

"Legion spoke of the geth building a super structure to house geth platforms that the flotilla chose to destroy," Tali made sure to emphasize that she had nothing to do with the decision, "But the heretics we destroyed before passing the Omega-4 relay had something similar on Haestrom. It was relatively small in terms of housing geth programs, but it was a place EDI had to know the location of when Legion opened her up to the geth consensus those few times."

"I'm surprised it still existed."

"It was abandoned when my squad originally landed to check out Haestrom's sun, fear that it was too accessible by the heretics enemies. But with the heretics destroyed it simply was ignored by the other geth, occupied with their own structure and the war with the quarians. You add in the deteriorating sun and the electromagnetic shielding, what else could it be, and why now of all times?"

Garrus nodded. "And that's another reason EDI wasn't able to reconnect with us or let us know she's safe; she's possibly not in complete control and stuck on a planet whose sun jams outside communications."

A moment of silence passed as everyone now turned their gaze to Shepard, who was tapping a finger on the table as he thought all this through. The fast tapping was finally stopped as Miranda placed her hand over Shepard's.

"How do we get her back to the Normandy, in relatively one piece? The first time we met her, EDI was trying to kill us on Earth's moon."

Tali was typing away at Miranda's terminal. "We can bring her mech body down with us and attempt to connect it into the key mainframe and allow for a straight upload. From there the mech will begin to sync back with the Normandy, and Adams, Donnelly, and Daniels can make sure she is properly uploaded, without the other AI applications."

Crossing his arms in concern, Garrus chimed in, "I take it **you** are volunteering to facilitate the upload planetside. On the radioactive planet that cooks anything in the sunlight."

"Do you trust anyone else? Kasumi is still injured, and we don't know what type of resistance we'll get from EDI on the ground."

Stopping the lover's quarrel for the time being, Shepard continued his questioning "What are the chances of us successfully uploading her back to the Normandy? And more importantly, will the quarians not destroy the structure?"

"I used my position as admiral to make sure the flotilla would suspend activities in the system until we arrived."

"And I seemed to remember nearly getting killed on a geth dreadnought even though you told Han'Gerrel to cease fire..." Ashley was joking, making sure her deadpan response was coupled with a light smile, but there was much truth to those words.

"I mentioned that it was official Spectre business, and that it would be a gesture of goodwill now that we have an upcoming seat on the Council."

"Hopefully he doesn't hold a grudge with that punch to the stomach you gave him, Captain." Traynor mentioned, unable to hide her smile at the memory.

Miranda's hand was removed from atop Shepard's, now pinching her nose in disbelief. "Punching an admiral? Dammit John," she sighed as others quietly laughed at her reaction to the event.

"He deserved it, Miranda, trust me." Tali was quick to jump to her friend's defense, despite her loyalty to her people.

Shepard put away his grin as he tried to maintain the focus of the crew. "Ok, we're all in agreement then, we're looking at a rescue mission. Now the matter of Joker..."

Liara spoke first, "He's in the shuttle bay right now getting 'weapons training' from Zaeed, Vega, and Javik. Cortez is currently piloting the ship."

Ashley shook her head at the idea. "After the way he acted as we left Zorya, I don't know if he can keep his emotions in check, I recommend keeping him away from the controls, he might do something stupid."

"I agree." Garrus had put aside their argument, but he maintained the same opinion.

"We could always just knock him out, have Chakwas sedate him during his upcoming Vrolik treatment."

Daniels was joking, or at least Shepard hoped, but no one was laughing, the crew's eyes looking somewhat content with the idea.

"No. Let me speak with him, we need Cortez dropping us off planetside with minimal detection."

"Alright, everyone dismissed. We've got 12 more hours before we reach the Far Rim, get ready and rested." Miranda's command was followed by the crew slipping out of her office one by one until only she and Shepard remained.

Miranda slid back to her chair and terminal, clearing the maps and getting back to looking over the Normandy's runtime systems. Shepard leaned on the table next to her, his back facing the door as he crossed his arms, looking at the blueshift from the nearby window.

"You're worried EDI might not be EDI anymore." Miranda correctly surmised, never taking her eyes off the screen but having spent enough time around Shepard to know what he was thinking.

"Are you Kelly Chambers or Miss Lawson?" Shepard joked as he saw her roll her eyes. "I fully expect to bring her home, just thinking about that small chance we have to pull the plug."

"I'm thinking about the worst case scenario where EDI causes the Normandy to crash on a planet where we can't send a distress signal out, along with a sun that would damage my pale perfection."

A joke, from Miranda? That was something Shepard was surprised to hear. He played along. "You're absolutely right, we can't let that happen. I'm too high profile to be seen with someone who has red, blotchy skin."

"All you men are superficial."

"Don't set me up for such easy comebacks, dear."

Miranda let out a loud grown as she covered her eyes with one of her hands, using the other to point to the door. "Go. Now. Talk to Joker."

Before doing as he was instructed Shepard pushed off the table and tilted her head up with a free hand, delivering a quick kiss that Miranda responded to without opening her eyes.

"You bring up a good point. Get in touch with Hackett and let him know our destination, just in case we do end up stranded. Have Tali advise the flotilla to do the same. I then want you up in the cabin in half an hour, to finish what was interrupted."

Opening her left eye just slightly, she showcased that completely immobilizing grin of hers. "You're going to spoil me at this rate."

* * *

"Come on, Joke-man, you're getting smoked by someone who never held a gun before!"

"She's got perfect genes and you gave me a damn pistol that's a second away from shattering my hands!"

James was barking at Joker in a half serious tone as the Normandy's pilot and Oriana aimed down the bay at the shuttle door targets. Zaeed had provided Oriana with his own Phalanx pistol that benefitted from lightweight materials along with a top of the line scope while James threw Joker into the deep end, giving him his modified Carnifex that had both the high caliber barrel attached to it along with a close range melee stunner.

The weight alone that was added to the Carnifex made Jeff unable to keep the gun from wavering after a few seconds, something that made hitting the moving VI targets ten meters away next to impossible, not to mention the recoil the feeble human would experience.

"You've got it, girl, just keep countin' in yer head like I told you." Zaeed said as he spoke into the younger Lawson's ear from behind, fully accepting his role as coach.

"One, two, three, fire." As she murmured to herself she fired as she said the word, registering a hit just outside of a bullseye. The process repeated again as she followed the moving target in it's slow moving random pattern, scoring another near bullseye.

Shepard arrived and stepped off the elevator, surprised at the training between the two. It drew the attention of everyone in the shuttle bay, many unable to keep a straight face and the unenviable task Joker was assigned to with James as his coach.

As much as he enjoyed seeing the yin and yang of the two, he immediately thought of Miranda getting upset at what was going on, never wanting to see her sister hold a pistol. He did have to admit, her aim was natural and fluid.

Javik turned around to nod as Shepard arrived closer. "Captain, you need to make sure Mr. Moreau never is in a position to fire a weapon where his life is at stake."

After his last wild shot, Jeff turned around in an exasperated look. "Hey! Shepard can vouch that I saved his butt fighting your brainwashed family!"

Javik knew he meant the Collectors, but looked to the Captain for confirmation. Shepard nodded in approval, "Jeff's right, but it was more of a blind firing while I was being pulled up from the airlock."

"No way, Shepard, that was pure skill! Three kills!"

"And a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Nonsense, the clock is broken, it's always wrong. Fix the software or rip it out and replace it with a new one." Javik's understanding of the old human idiom was lost on him, and Shepard didn't want to explain it at the moment.

"Joker, you're relieved."

"Oh thank God, I need a better coach than the Lieutenant here." Joker ejected his thermal clip and dropped the gun on the ground, much to James' shock. The others knew about the meeting that took place above them, and were glad that their plan to train Jeff seemed to absorb the pilot for the needed time.

As Joker made his way to Shepard the Captain put his hand on his shoulder to show a friendly shake after a rather humiliating defeat. "Don't worry, no one's going to hold that over you."

"A perfect human gets better points than a brittle bone pilot who was given a gun that weighed like a rock, no one in their right mind could hold that over me!" Joker was only mildly upset at the results.

"I'm starving, let's head up for a meal real quick before I have other things to attend to."

"Sounds good, Captain."

The two made their way back up the elevator and into the mess hall, entertaining themselves with scuttlebutt. As they took the trays of steak and potatoes from Kasumi (who also knew of the meeting and was listening in), they made their way to a pair of seats where they started their meal.

"Man, I don't care if this is real or fake steak, it's been too long." Joker's face was clearly enjoying each new bite he put into his mouth.

"You've got to put in your meal requests, Jeff. It was a good idea when this was a Cerberus ship and it's why I carried it over during the war, those small things help moral."

"I don't know, it seemed so...unnecessary? I mean I totally get why you did it, Captain, but me just getting a turn in the rotation meant one more member of the ship having to miss out on their meal of choice." For as much joking as Jeff was prone to, this was a rare moment of thoughtfulness, something Shepard saw only when they were about to plunge into the final battle or were yelling at each other after Thessia.

Riding on that moment of thought, Shepard let Joker finish another bite of his food before he dropped the news. "About Haestrom..."

"Yeah, what's up with Tali? Is she looking to get fried by the sun again? I don't think we have quarian sunscreen in the medbay."

"I thought we did, it was just relabeled as turian warpaint."

"Funny, Captain."

"No Jeff, Haestrom has something that might be a big help to the ship."

Joker swallowed another bite of food as he raised an eyebrow. "We've got the best in the galaxy already aboard, who else can there be?"

"No, Jeff, I think EDI is on Haestrom."

"Bullshit." The speed at which he responded made it seem like this was something he had been thinking about for the past few weeks.

"Really, Jeff, Tali ran me through the theory, I think it's completely valid." And so Shepard did his best to retell the quarian's theory, from how EDI got to Haestrom to what the ship expected to see when they got there.

During this whole time Joker never took his eyes off his officer, his meal long growing cold. As Shepard finally finished, it took a moment before his face lit up and he quickly got out of his seat, shaking his fists in excitement.

"Yes! That makes perfect sense!" No sarcasm was detected, by both the Captain and any of the crew in the mess hall who heard the positive outburst.

"There is still the possibility of-"

"Captain, we've got the best engineers on this ship, they're going to make it work!"

Joker cupped his hands to yell across the hall, "Next dock, I'm buying everyone a round at Purgatory!" The crew clapped and cheered at the offer from their pilot, Kasumi included.

Shepard smiled and rubbed his chin as he watched his close friend dance in place, the weird flailing moving to the humming beat of his own voice, eyes closed and lost in a world of hope.

"This went better than I thought it would."

"Captain, even if it's a lost cause, we at least did what we could to save her. That's more than what we had when the Crucible fired. Aw man, where's Gabby, I need her to trim my hair, I've gotta look sharp..."

Shepard couldn't tell if he was looking at a seasoned alliance officer or a teenage boy. Letting Jeff ride the wave of happiness, he took both their trays and slid out of the seat.

"Get some rest, Joker, Cortez is still at the helm for a few more hours."

"Yes, sir!" He was saying one thing but it was clear he was too excited about the news to settle down, at least for the next hour.

Handing the trays to Kasumi, Shepard gave her a slight order with a whisper. "If he's still like this in an hour, make sure Chakwas gives him a sedative."

She nodded but made her point known, "You let him know too early, Shep."

"And if I waited until we got to the planet he'd be riding his emotions too much and could be a liability. Pros and cons to everything."

"I'll keep an eye on him, Shep. The others should be arriving for meals soon, he can bounce off them for a bit before they hit the bunks."

The Spectre nodded as Joker mingled with the other crewmembers as he bombarded them with the good news. Everyone was glad, and Donnelly made a motion to head to the bar to celebrate, but gave Shepard a look that showed they would take it easy, the real celebration would occur when EDI was successfully back aboard the ship.

* * *

"Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled," Miranda said as she exited the shower, brushing her lightly damp hair as she donned one of Shepard's off duty shirts.

Shepard simply smiled as he looked up through the glass ceiling, his head resting on his hands as he waited under the sheets for Miranda to return.

"That view is so much better without turian graffiti." Shepard had made sure that Garrus spent time while docked to remove the paint that spoke simple untruths about the human's accuracy.

Miranda slid under the sheets and found her usual location next to Shepard's chest, taking his left arm and draping it around her as she indicated a need for an embrace. "It's a weird thing to boast about, but I think humanity has the best graffiti of all the species."

"That's incredibly unexpected to hear before bed."

Snuggling further into his chest and looking out into space, she continued her odd praise

of humanity.

"After a few hundred stops on Omega you pick up on the things you don't normally see. Turians write too clean, too linear. Salarians, if they could even think about doing such a thing, never use the full extent of their canvas. Asari are heavily feminine in their style, too much art for their own good. Krogan just splatter things. But humans, we make things so unexpected, it allows for an increased individuality."

"Not only is our genetic makeup diverse, we can paint better, incomprehensible things on walls."

"It's a weird badge of honor to have, John, but a badge none the less."

"I think my XO needs to get some rest, she seems borderline incomprehensible."

"And I think my captain is right."

The two kissed before settling in for the night, Shepard tapping the control panel to turn the lamps off.

**Hopefully that EDI explanation wasn't complete crap. You've got certain death on one end, but you've become so human you still want to live, and take that one in a hundred chance to stay alive.**


	23. Elysian Fields

23: Elysian Fields

"Excuse me, ma'am? Can you direct me to Hotel Avara?"

John Shepard politely stopped into a human-run cafe just outside the shuttle landing area of Illyria's busy starport, a constant shuffle of activity from all alien races arriving and departing from Elysium's capital city. Many were coming for the bustling colony life that offered ideal conditions for human life along with other amino-based lifeforms, but in the case of newly promoted Corporal Shepard, he was on a standard five-day shore leave.

And as luck would have it, his omni-tool was on the fritz. Not expecting the commercial shuttle to Elysium to be so jammed pack with all kinds of alien species, Shepard wasn't able to move his hand in time as a group of salarians squeezed onto the shuttle at the last minute, causing a standing room only ship to create a wave of discomfort that resulted in his right hand hitting a steel corner _just_ right, shattering the processor of his standard alliance hand-tool.

At the time Shepard took it as a good sign, a way to legitimately stay out of contact with any alliance military requests while he enjoyed the beauty of the colony. At the very least he could have the device repaired, perhaps even upgraded, at one of the many startup tech companies that came to the planet.

The elder woman behind the counter, probably one of the first colonists on Elysium, simply looked at the young soldier with a dumbfounded look.

"You're alliance, aren't you, son?" Looking at his military standard duffel bag, the name "Shepard" being branded vertically along the side of the fully packed carry-all. "Just pull up your omni-tool's map!" That definitely confirmed she was one of the first generation of Elysium colonists, omni-tools being mandatory for both first-foot colonists and alliance soldiers.

John brought his hand in front of him, trying to activate the device but getting nothing but an orange screen that broke in and out of existence. Making eye contact with the short but spry woman, he simply shrugged his face as she realized his device was broken.

"Say no more. You want to head right from the entrance here, then go straight for a kilometer and look for the midrise building just across from the Terra Nova Commonwealth Tower."

Shepard smiled in appreciation as he looked at the freshly prepared food in front of him, pulling out a sandwich that looked to be real poultry along with two beverages, one soda, the other an Elysium stout for later. He placed the items on the counter and handed over a credit chit to complete the transaction as he watched the modest crowd in the cafe go about their normal routine; a pair of salarians were talking and eating as he had normal seen their kind do, a lone drell was sitting in the corner as he communicated via omnitool to someone across the galaxy, and a human family enjoyed a quiet meal with their two young children as they looked forward to a better life on the planet.

Breaking the thoughts of the marine the old shop owner tapped the sandwich package, "That's real turkey, mind you. The birds love the weather here." The woman proudly boasted of her adopted planet's ability to continue the food-chain for human colonists.

"Being on a ship for so long, I've forgotten what real food tastes like."

"You could say the same for anyone who isn't still on Earth. It's the only thing I envy about those poor souls."

Shepard smiled as he took the bag his items were placed in and left the cafe, throwing his duffel over his shoulder as he joinined the sea of others who made their way out of the space port's landing zones, walking down the long open walkway to the terminal's end. Some took taxis to their new locations, others like Shepard continued to walk and take in the sights of the bustling port.

Since joining the Alliance this was the first time Shepard had received a lengthy shore leave and he planned to make the most of it. He never felt safe being aboard a ship for so long and despised the sleep pods that were standard for all lower rank soldiers. That was something he couldn't wait to have; a hotel room, no matter how small, giving him hot water and a comfortable bed to sleep in and recharge his power cells.

The soldier made his way as instructed by the shop owner and found Hotel Avara just where she described it, just across from the Terra Nova Commonwealth Tower.

And what a tower it was. Despite having the name of another human colony, the bank's rapid growth among human colonies indicated it was fast approaching a secure place to deal with galactic finance. The blue building was one of the tallest in Illyria's skyline, going well beyond the standard levels that hovercars were accustomed to following.

Standing in the street Shepard was being bumped into repeatedly, indicating a need for him to move on and stop looking.

"Come on, human, move out of the way, I don't have as much time as you do." A frustrated salarian said as he walked by with cases in tow.

Taking this cue John stepped into the entrance of the hotel and let his duffel bag hit the ground with a thud as he waited at the reception desk to check-in. Behind the desk a light blue asari smiled warmly as she took the information from the Corporal, eyeing the marine as his jeans and grey alliance logo shirt identified him as a visiting soldier.

"Welcome to Hotel Avara, John Shepard. I have you staying with us for four nights. Do you need a king size or twin bed?" The way the young asari offered the question caused the Corporal to stammer in his response. "Uh, um, just whatever you have available, please. I just want a bed and a hot shower."

"Of course, our hotel may not reach for the skies like others on Elysium, but we make up for it with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere."

"That's exactly why I chose it."

The asari, whose nametag read Deira, instantly shot her eyes open upon hearing that. "Well then in your research I'm sure you saw how our in-house restaurant offers the latest music from the best up and coming bands in the galaxy?"

John didn't pay attention to that information while looking on the extranet, but played along innocently enough. "Of course."

"Well I happen to play hardy piano (slang for hard-light piano) for one of the best bands on Elysium, 'The Ageless Beauties.' And I know how you marines like to share music while on duty, I think you'll really dig our style! Check us out tonight, we go on at 26:00!"

A flick of the wrist brought up a holographic advertisement for Deira's band, showing four young asari playing their instruments as the lead singer belted out loud words, many of them incomprehensible. He didn't know if that was standard asari language not being run through a translator or if it was more an indication of the band's quality.

"Sure, uh, that sounds like something to check out. I just want to head up to my room for a bit."

"Of course, of course! Just press your palm here," the asari indicated to the palm print reader, "and you'll be ready to go. Your room is suite 1444, it's located to the right of the elevator, away from the street noise."

Having placed his hand on the palm reader, Shepard picked up his bag and headed up the elevator, playing nice and waving goodbye to the asari who had begun to take information from the next turian guest in line.

* * *

Loud booms awoke Shepard from his sleep as he slowly opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep with the TV screen on, providing a white noise in the background to lull him to sleep after he finished his meal and indulged in a longer shower that was against normal alliance regulations onboard military vessels.

Getting up and moving to the nearby window, Elysium's sun had just started to rise over the horizon, but black plumes of smoke could be seen up and down the main street with all species looking on in concern.

Turning back to the TV he swiped his hand at the screen to change channels until he found a local Illyria station. The female anchor had a panicked look on her face as the ticker below the newsdesk seemed to confirm the continuing booms from outside: ELYSIUM UNDER ATTACK.

John quickly dressed and ran outside making his way past a few individuals who were talking in the hallway about what was happening. After a particularly loud boom sent reverberations through the building, Shepard made his way down the long flight of stairs to arrive at the hotel lobby, seeing the faces of panicked civilians.

Ignoring the others who flooded the reception desk with questions, the soldier moved toward the hotel entrance when he saw a police shuttle crash right down the street, taking out multiple shuttles and taxis in the area.

Two security personnel stood near the hotel entrance as they held a hand on their holstered Karpov pistols. Older in age and never expecting to encounter an attack on the colony, they were clearly out of their league.

When a dark grey shuttle landed in the middle of the street just meters away, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit.

Batarians, nearly a dozen of them quickly moved out of the shuttle that remained in the street. They were firing everywhere and at anyone who was able to draw breath, paying no mind to the damage they caused, only waiting for their weapons to cool down before they could fire again.

Sensing the guards were on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown, Shepard quietly motioned with his lips to stay low and hug the pillars that obscured their view from the outside, watching as a few batarians made their way toward the hotel entrance.

"Sir, you just stay low and hand me that pistol, I'll make sure we're safe." The guard complied with no resistance, handing the Karpov as he noticed the dog tags that were slung around Shepard's neck and swinging outside his shirt.

The screams of hotel guests caused Shepard to turn his neck quickly, seeing many hit the floor as glass and furniture were shot at, a few civilians catching rounds as well. He stayed hidden with the one guard until three batarians walked completely into view, yelling for everyone to get down. They yelled for surrender but their actions gave no indication they would stop shooting if people did as they were told.

_A good thing they're not wearing helmets_, Shepard thought as he took aim at the mercenary pulling up the rear, multiple shots hitting his head as his dead body collapsed.

By the time the two other batarian pirates turned around, Shepard was already facing eye to eye(s) with the closest one, a surge of adrenaline running through his veins as he fired once at the batarian before grabbing him to use as a shield with his left hand, the unlucky fool receiving multiple blasts from his companion.

Shepard noticed the batarian's rifle had overheated and tossed aside the lifeless shield as he dashed towards the remaining survivor, throwing his pistol to instinctively make the batarian shield his face as he tackled the alien to the ground, losing control of his assault rifle in the process as the two flipped over a long plush couch near a modern black piano.

A few screams from nearby civilians and their desire to move away from the two were a blur as Shepard wrestled on top of the pirate and continued to beat him senseless in the face, the batarian struggling to put up his arms in defense as he never expected to face any resistance.

Finally the batarian lost consciousness and his body went limp, allowing Shepard the opportunity to catch his breath and look around to make sure no other pirates had arrived as backup. The gunfire outside along with the continuing booms made it clear they were preoccupied.

Tucking his dog tags under his shirt and pushing off the subdued alien, Shepard looked over to pick up the Terminator rifle and gathered the other weapons from the other dead soldiers.

_Polonium rounds, those bastards._

The toxic round was outlawed, yet it was just another symbol of the batarians ignoring galactic law.

As he kneeled down to pick up the other weapons he heard the sound of a Karpov pistol firing. Looking back he saw that the other guard wasted no time in shooting the unconscious batarian. The young soldier had hoped to keep the alien alive for possible questioning, but now wasn't the time to judge anybody's actions while chaos continued to pour through the streets.

"Is everyone ok?" Shepard asked in a calm manner, making sure he saw no reinforcements coming. Many of the assembled species nodded in the affirmative, the only ones unable to do so remained on the floor, an indication that they were killed by the pirates opening salvo.

A human male slowly emerged from behind the reception desk, shaking and nervous but otherwise unharmed. He looked to be the shift manager and like everyone else was completely out of his league at the moment. Shepard pointed to him with a question. "You! Are there any security measures in place on this hotel?"

"We-we-we have shutters to activate, but once they come down we won't be able to open them for at least six hours!" Despite being safe, the man still held his hands in the air when talking to the marine.

"Good. When I say so, activate the system and move everyone further into the hotel, and get in contact with the local authorities."

The human shook his head yes and waved for another human employee to stand up, the two typing into the their terminals to bring up the security protocols.

Among the nearly three dozen people in the lobby, Shepard noticed two turians trying to make sure others were ok, escorting an injured salarian to a nearby chair. Shepard walked over with two Terminator rifles and shoved them into each of their chests, not as an act of instigation but of haste.

"You guys have had basic military training, right? I want you to make sure no one gets past those shutters, as long as you hear explosions outside, you shoot first and ask questions later. We clear?"

Despite the turians being older than the human, they gave sharp nods and understood exactly what their job was. It was something Shepard always admired about the turian race, despite the two species getting off on the wrong foot years ago.

Walking back to the hotel entrance Shepard picked up the remaining Terminator rifle as he looked around as the civilians slowly moved into the building. He nodded his head to the hotel manager who activated the shutters to come down.

Slowly the shutters were brought over the entrance and windows, sheets of titanium making their way to the ground. Shepard slowly stepped underneath the door shutter and arrived outside as the metal clanged behind him, not being allowed to change his mind.

The sounds of rifles were no longer dampened by the hotel walls, and the continuing bombardment was complimented with frigates and freighters flying extremely close overhead, barely making it past the tallest buildings. Elysium was under attack and it wasn't a random job; this looked planned and well coordinated if the culprits were able to cause the alliance frigates in the area trouble.

Shepard's first job was to make sure any innocents in the area found cover, but the street seemed clear, the only bodies on the ground had long ceased to breathe.. Staying low and hugging the wreckage of damaged vehicles he made his was towards the nearby gunfire, now knowing the sound of enemy rifles.

Peeking around a corner wall he saw the security forces protecting the Terra Nova Tower engaged in combat with the other batarians from the shuttle. Among the alien race there were also two humans, one a pale white male, the other's brown skin clearly contrasting the two among the yellow tinged skin of the visor wearing batarians.

This new information immediately ran through Shepard's mind as it was no longer an attack by the Batarian Hegemony but an attack by the pirates in the Skyllian Verge. As some small comfort, Shepard optimistically thought this didn't have the capability of being a large, drawn out attack on Illyria, or so he hoped.

The red armored pirates continued to fire at the Loki mechs and human security standing atop the stairs to the Tower entrance, hiding behind the massive marble walls that circled various Earth shrubbery as they slowly made their way up the steps.

Compared to the hotel security these guards were well trained but relied too much on the automated defenses that were being destroyed at an increased rate.

Amidst the barks and hollers of the pirates who were enjoying themselves, some using biotics to fling the damaged mechs into their functioning companions, Shepard lined up his shot on one of the six remaining pirates from behind an overturned vehicle in a hope to draw their fire.

He focused on one of the biotic batarians first, making sure that his fire would break through the barrier and leave him open tot he rapid fire of the Loki submachine guns. It worked just as he envisioned, by the time the others were able to notice the barrier breaking he was already gone.

Ducking back into cover as his rifle cooled down, he was lucky that the sonic booms heard overhead did their best to mask his rifle fire, adding to the confusion of where the pirates suspected the attack to come from.

Just before he attempted to take out another pirate, an alliance interceptor came screaming down the street. The pilot did what he could to avoid crashing into nearby buildings, but the result was taking out the vehicles that littered the street, Shepard's cover included.

Diving out of the way John had only seconds to regroup as the one man ship cleared the street, and with it drew the attention of the pirates, seeing an unarmored alliance marine out in the open.

_Dammit._

Unable to run anywhere, he made his body as small as he could as he crouched and aimed his pilfered rifle at the remaining pirates. Thankfully they were now taking fire from both sides and weren't able to concentrate their fire solely on Shepard without exposing themselves to fire from atop the stairs.

This allowed one more pirate to fall, the pale human, as the other pirate that focused on Shepard missed his mark momentarily, but finally pegged the marine in the left leg. With armor it would have been nothing, particularly with the newest shield upgrades, but without any sort of shielding the pain was excruciating. At least it felt like the round only hit muscle and not his bones.

"Hold on!"

Shepard could hear one of the black-clad security personnel from across the street just before another shuttle came crashing down, this time a civilian taxi that was caught in the mortar fire of the pirate attack.

Fortunately for the people inside the vehicle the taxi landed with a thud on the concrete ground as it's thrusters did what they could to maintain flight. Unfortunately for the people inside the taxi Shepard had rolled his way over to the shuttle for cover.

"Keep your heads down!" He yelled as the panicked civilians inside started to scream as rifle fire from across the street belted the grounded taxi.

He knew the taxi doors would only last so long before they finally gave way to the concentrated fire, and he hated that he was putting these people in even greater danger, but he had no other choice at the moment.

Leaning against the front quarter panel Shepard blindly fired above the hood of the vehicle before he dropped to the ground, the top half of his body being out in the open as he held his rifle close to his chest to take aim at any available enemy.

Thankfully the other human pirate was in his limited line of sight and he opened fire. He had connected a few shots that didn't kill the pirate but at least made him fall out of commission for the time being.

No longer was rifle fire hitting the taxi, giving Shepard the opportunity to check his leg and try and place himself into a better position to provide supporting fire. The leg was bleeding but he still had time before it became a serious problem, knowing if he made it through this he could attempt to get medical help from the security guards at the Tower.

"What's going on?!" The asari inside the taxi screamed, her head popping up to be visible above the damaged glass. She was holding another asari close while two human females in the back were mirroring the aliens in panic and mannerisms.

The asari's scream drew more fire from one of the remaining pirates, but a second later the rogue's very own voice echoed in the street as the few remaining Loki mechs made their way down the steps, shredding his shield and allowing the security guards to finally end this confrontation.

"Stay down!" Shepard hissed in a commanding whisper, looking over to see if any pirates remained standing.

"Enemy down! Drop your weapon and get up here!"

One of the guards stood and waved to Shepard, miming the drop of his own weapon to get the point across. Without any further information Shepard realized the mechs were auto programmed to register the assault rifle as being used by a hostile individual and did what he was told, sliding the rifle on the ground as he opened one of the taxi doors.

The hydarulic hiss of the door opening was followed by the females inside bolting out of the cab, doing so with such immediacy they lost their footing and fell to the ground, nearly trampling each other as they ran across the street shielding their heads with their hands.

_Well thanks, ladies..._

Shepard pushed himself up as he did what he could to lighten the weight on his left leg, hobbling over as he saw the mechs maintain a position at the bottom of the stairs, their single red eyes eerily watching the marine move up the steps.

"You got a real pair on you, kid." The head guard, a tall black man with a bald head joked as he met him halfway down the steps to offer his literal support, allowing John to lighten the pressure on his leg some more.

"You wouldn't believe how well this vacation is going."

"Seems like the trouble followed you."

Reaching the Tower entrance the women from the taxi were being escorted inside to a safe room while more drones were moving from inside the building to set up a stronger defensive perimeter. Walls of glass that once reflected the sunrise were now covered by matte titanium shutters, looking as though they could take a much tougher beating than the hotel across the street.

As the bald guard poured a packet of medigel over Shepard's wound, the pain relief was immediate and a sigh of satisfaction was exhaled.

"Thank you, sir. I take it you're going to close up shop now like the others."

"As soon as backup arrives, you bet. We've got some pretty secure stuff going on in here, almost thought these pirate sons of bitches were attacking the Tower alone until we heard the other explosions."

One of the other guards arrived from inside the Tower, handing a datapad to the man. "Everything's ready to go Castle, sir, just waiting on your command. Seems the space port is about to be overrun and we're just down their path."

"Damn alliance, good for nothing but taxes..." The guard knew he was in the presence of a marine but didn't care, his contempt seeming to come from either having worked for the alliance himself years earlier or simply having to deal with alliance interference as Elysium grew.

"Let's get you inside, son. You've done enough good for the day."

"If the port's about to be overrun, they'll need all the help they can get."

"You're just going to be a bump on their way through the city, we don't know what these batarian bastards are up to."

"Look at it this way, we repel the attack and you guys don't have to buy anymore mechs." Shepard gave a slight chuckle that hid behind it a fear that he was willing to head into winless situation. Looking down and taking a big gulp, he continued in a more somber, quiet tone, "as long as they shoot at me it buys someone else a chance to get to safety."

The two stared at each other, youth showing a determination that went beyond his shaky words while maturity reacted with a shake of the head, disappointment radiating from the guard's brown eyes even as the booms from nearby continued.

"What's your name and rank, kid?"

"Corporal John Shepard."

"Karega Otonbe." The guard took the time to shake the soldier's hand as he waved his datapad to get the other guards attention.

"Chen, get the Corporal here some of that new armor we received last week, plus some of our top of the line weapons."

"On it, sir."

"You helped stop those pirates from killing any of my men here, this is my way of saying thanks." He hit the side of Shepard's right arm lightly to show his appreciation.

"I appreciate it, sir."

Chen had arrived quickly, carrying with him a heavy armor that was nearly all black, save for orange stripes running along the arms. On the right chestpiece was a logo Shepard had never seen before: a white circle with three orange dots forming a triangle just to the left of center.

"New type of armor?"

Karega shrugged it off almost immediately, "Brand new design, that just means prototype or something."

As he said those words he also took from Chen a new assault rifle and sniper rifle, "these beauties right here are comparable only to Spectre gear, they're that good."

As Shepard put on the armor, he took one more application of medigel to his leg to help numb the pain, at least for the time being. Attaching the weapons to the magplate on his back, he gave Otonbe one last shake of the hand as a shuttle just arrived, reinforcements armed to the teeth in armor similar to Shepard's making their way into the building without looking at the guards or the marine.

"You really weren't joking about having some important stuff in there."

"I don't even know half of what's going on, I just know the young lady in charge here likes to run a tight ship," Otonbe's eyes rolled a bit back in his head as he lost himself in thought for a moment, "As tight as her body is, I swear..."

_The man was definitely former alliance_, Shepard had heard those same lines coming from the crew (and himself) a few times since enlisting.

"Hopefully she won't mind if I take that shuttle to head back to the spaceport."

"Go ahead, crash it into a few of those four-eyed shitheads for me."

"Just for you, sir. Stay safe, take care of those ladies."

"Hey, just worry about yourself right now. I don't want to see your name on the list of casualties when this is all done."

Shepard didn't have to, but gave a salute anyway as he turned and ran to the abandoned shuttle, watching a pair of alliance interceptors fly above as they looked for any ground hostiles. Reaching the controls he brought the shuttle up, just a few meters off the ground and turned it towards the spaceport, going as fast as he could.

His shuttle skills weren't the best as he flicked away at the screens, trying to patch in to alliance channels. Before he could successfully locate the right frequency a loud bang was heard, followed by an Australian accent, female, booming out of the shuttle speakers.

_"What the bloody hell is going on here?"_

* * *

Awakened from another dream of the past, Shepard's eyes adjusted to the light as he had to look up more than expected to find Miranda's face, the woman pushing herself up in bed, his arm still pulled out over her body but now resting on her thighs instead of around her chest.

Her look was more of anger than concern, which made him realize this wasn't something serious in terms of their safety. Rolling his hand off her smooth skin Shepard rubbed his face to help wake up and then turned to plant his feet on the cabin ground, seeing what made Miranda so upset.

It was Oriana, who had somehow gained access to the cabin's quarters without alerting the two occupants inside. That was, until the tray carrying the plates of breakfast she had prepared fell to the ground just before the stairs.

"I'm so sorry you two I was going to leave this outside but the door just opened and I thought you were up so I came inside and I saw the beautiful aquarium and it was dark and I wasn't paying attention and didn't see this cable and-"

"Breathe, Ori," Miranda's initial angry outburst was now tempered, understanding the situation that happened.

"DNA identification, no wonder she got inside without us knowing."

"Well, there's _another_ reason for you to bring EDI back safe and sound." Miranda joked as she helped Oriana clean up the mess off the ground.

Oriana whispered slightly to her sister as they were kneeling down to pick up the plates and as much egg and toast as possible, "You're wearing his shirt, that's so cute!"

"Shut. Up."

The teasing continued. "It's one thing to wear his jacket, but this new nighttime attire shows-"

"Shut. Up."

**I wanted to do another flashback before the EDI mission, so here we go. Terra Nova Commonwealth is a Cerberus front, and those weapons and armor were, according to the Mass Effect Wiki, Cerberus Skunkworks, which was a hidden PC weapon and armor manufacturer in the first game. If there's something you'd like to see from Shepard's earthborn/war hero past that I haven't hit yet, let me know.**


	24. Sunscreen

24: Sunscreen

The Normandy's War Room had seen little activity since the reaper war, much of the equipment being repurposed and many functions returning to the CIC. What did remain was the QEC, a place Shepard currently found himself standing in front of as he looked at the blue construct of Admiral Hackett.

_"Captain. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."_

"Just trying to save a valuable ally, that's all."

_"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Shepard. We received your report about the Normandy AI being at the edge of the galaxy, but you have to know this isn't something that we've authorized."_

After the Admiral spoke those words, his head tilted back ever so slightly, a move that appeared to show a caution Hackett had rarely, if ever, used when it came to Shepard.

It was a look that reminded Shepard of the admiralty board during those months of isolation, constantly being dragged in for questioning despite his answer never changing. He didn't like it then, and he didn't understand the reason for it now.

"Then I guess I'm using my role as a Council Spectre to make it authorized. There are only a few beings still alive who have done more than EDI did, and I will not leave her behind." He remained calm in his answer, not projecting any hostility or anger but simply stating the fact.

_"EDI, as you call it, is a completely autonomous AI, something incredibly dangerous for the galaxy at the moment."_

"That's not fair, sir."

_"I think it is, Captain. You and Mr. Moreau refused to divulge the program as a real AI as you returned to Earth. A being that was partially of reaper origin was a potential threat for nearly six months, in the heart of humanity space no less."_

"I was also partially of reaper design, sir, it doesn't mean anything."

Hoping to continue on his counterpoint, Shepard continued to push his case, "It was the only way to protect her. And it was her data after Mars that allowed the Alliance to create those Fillies that helped keep key locations safe during the war, saving thousands of _human_ lives."

He was referring to the Alliance Infiltrator Units that were based entirely on the Cerberus AI that nearly killed Ashley on Mars. After EDI had successfully taken over the body, she had sent various programs to the resistance that allowed in the creation of new shackled AI mech units that proved their worth a hundred times over. After Joker had heard of EDI's generous gift to the war effort, he chose the name Filly, saying "AIU" didn't roll off the tongue quite as elegantly as his AI companion's name.

_"Those machines are still shackled under tight alliance control, Shepard. I don't even understand how your AI is even in former geth space, but I do know the chance for her to be corrupted has now multiplied. In that case, why even bring her back aboard the most advanced ship in the galaxy?"_

Shepard looked away for a second. He couldn't argue with that point. He wanted to simply say "family," but knew he needed something more substantive than that. Many would never see their families after this war, it was something selfish to think about. His mind quickly countered its own thought, reminding him that he did everything he could to warn the galaxy of the reapers, it wasn't his fault, so of course he should look after his own.

Returning his eyes to the blue admiral, he repeated his earlier line, "Spectre Authority."

Admiral Hackett let out a sigh as he crossed his arms. _"Does the Council even know about this detour, Captain?"_

_No, but it won't stop me from what I'm doing..._

"We have a quarian admiral onboard who is responding to the needs of her people, this is simply escorting a political dignitary through potentially hazardous space as a sign of humanity's goodwill ." A slight upturn of the lip graced his face as he fabricated that line, proud of how useful Tali's title could become in replace of the often abused Spectre line.

_I hope she stays on this ship for the time being, maybe see if she actually wants a room now..._

_"Well then, if you're done patting yourself on the back for the same political speak you always said you hated, I'll let you get back to your work."_ The Admiral made a motion to disconnect the connection before the Captain held up a hand.

"Sir, sir!" Shepard tried to make the admiral stop but it was too late, the line was disconnected. Hands on his armored hips, he looked down at the ground for a second to compose himself. "Shit..."

"Captain, do you want me to reestablish a connection?" Traynor asked, having seen the whole conversation take place.

"No need, Samantha, let's get everything ready for Haestrom."

"If I may, Captain," the specialist said as they walked to the elevator, "I've been keeping tabs of the rebuilding efforts as reports keep pouring in, and Admiral Hackett seems to be letting it get to him. You have to remember he's the only real head of state we have at the moment."

"I realized that right before I started to run my mouth."

"Humanity's economy is nearly destroyed. Earth can only recover if we tax our surviving colonies to the brink or borrow heavily from other species. The former would nearly incite rebellion, the latter would seriously diminish our independence."

Waiting for the elevator, Shepard responded with a small finger point, as though he had an idea. "But every species is in the same shape we are."

"I thought so too, but the answer is no. The salarians were the last major race to really have reaper incursions into their territory, and the turians have the volus to help maintain their rebuilding efforts with their long reach into trade all across the galaxy."

They stepped onto the elevator as they headed for the shuttle bay as Traynor continued.

"The asari are damaged, but they have less to rebuild and more colonies to work with. Earth was under siege for six months, Thessia had to deal with the reapers for six weeks."

The two looked at each other, the young specialist wondering if she should continue as her last sentence ended a bit harsher than she imagined. Shepard nodded to continue, wanting to hear the list that seemed to paint an even bleaker picture for humanity.

"The krogan will be fine, despite what they've said they've always been survivors, even when they had the genophage, and what's left of the batarians could start over on any number of colony worlds with a clean state now that the hegemony is destroyed. And with the geth gone the quarians are able to leverage their fleet and old territory into a powerful bargaining tool, especially when it comes to postwar reconstruction."

She paused as she held her datapad in a sandwich-like grip, wiggling the pad as she puckered her lips. Once she got the Spectre's attention she added one more pieces of information, "And all of that's **without** the reports of piracy spiking in any non-homeworld system."

"Some species were hit too much but have nothing left but a fresh start, some were hit too softly, but humanity was hit _juuust_ right," Shepard darkly joked as he held his finger and thumb together to show that balance, to which Traynor could only scoff at in agreement as the elevator door opened to the shuttle bay.

James had EDI's mech body slung over his shoulder, much like he did when he first recovered it on Mars. The others waited as they saw their Captain head to the shuttle for orders.

"Alright team, here's the plan. First, James, give that body over to Zaeed."

James did what he was told as Zaeed looked confused.

"Liara, Zaeed, Samara, Tali, Miranda, you're up."

Those called nodded, knowing they were chosen because they had experience with Haestrom's sun from the Collector mission. All except Liara.

"Um, Shepard." Garrus wondered why he was off the list as he raised his hand.

"If something goes wrong or we need help you lead the others. They'll need someone who has had their feet on the ground here."

Garrus wanted to speak more but Shepard gave him a look to stop which he complied. The human knew exactly why Garrus was concerned; Tali was being asked to do a lot in a potentially hostile situation and he wanted to protect her personally.

"Miranda and Liara will be Tali's support down on the ground to facilitate the upload. Kasumi, you stay put in the AI core and keep in contact with Adams and the others."

"Understood, Shep."

"The rest of you stay suited up and wait here. Ash, you have the deck."

"Aye aye, Skipper."

The ground crew loaded into the shuttle, Zaeed being true to his nature and tossing EDI's mech body to the shuttle floor with a loud thud. " 's not like the bird can feel that."

Before Shepard stepped into the shuttle Garrus' talon like hand grabbed his arm. In their years together the turian always got Shepard's attention by resting his hand on top of the shoulder.

"Shepard, keep her safe."

"She will be. It's just like any other mission."

"No. I know Tali, she'll want to show how much she's changed about AI's that she'll put her safety at risk to bring EDI back. You promise me you put her first."

"Garrus..."

"John." He hadn't heard Garrus call him by his first name in...forever. Even in talking about his family that escaped Palaven he never had this much concern in his voice.

Shepard conceded. "Tali's safety is paramount." Garrus finally removed his hand as he gave one final look of appreciation, underwriting it with what would almost be a look of warning.

Stepping into the shuttle as Cortez closed the door Shepard wondered if his own concern for Miranda had shone through like that. He hoped it didn't, or at least hoped he was able to temper it better.

"Problems, Captain?" Tali asked as she fidgeted with the mech, prepping various areas with wires to connect to a universal receiver as the shuttle floated out of the Normandy's belly.

"Just going over the plan in case we need more help is all." A lie. Attempting to change the subject he turned a question around to the quarian, "the flotilla is aware of the situation?"

"Of course. They have a few ships in orbit around Gotha, attempting to scout for ideal mining locations now that the space is free from geth. If we don't make contact with them in five hours they have a squad of marines on standby to help out, led by Kal' Reegar himself." Tali said that name with utmost pride, as though anyone in the shuttle could see the satisfactory smile on her face behind her purple tinted glass.

"I received a report he died on Palaven." As Shepard let those words pass his lips he saw Miranda's face create a small smile, knowing what was about to be said. But before she could speak Tali spoke for her. "You should know reports about death can be misleading."

Miranda simply held her open palmed hand over to Tali, not looking at the quarian but nodding in agreement as she spoke her sentiments exactly. "You took the words right out of my mouth, Tali."

Tali continued, "Reegar and his men helped repair that tower on Palaven but went silent afterwards. It was a cover for keeping them undercover to help with planting warp bombs for that 'Miracle at Palaven' everyone was talking about before we attacked Cerberus."

"Tough son of bitch, that one." Zaeed praised without looking up as he fiddled with his Mattock.

"There was talk among the asari government and my fellow justicars about performing a move very similar to help Thessia," Samara said in her normal assured tone.

The move she was referring to was essentially a suicide mission. Reaper ships were destroyed on Palaven in a decisive victory but came at the cost of hundreds of elite soldiers sacrificing their lives to take out the processing ships with warp bombs.

"No way, beautiful. Let those other asari make that sacrifice, you an' me still have a whole lot more to do before we kick off." Rejection meant nothing to Zaeed, he was still trying to crack Samara's vow of celibacy.

"That we do, Zaeed, just not in the way you had hoped."

"Oh beautiful, why do you 'ave to tease me like that?"

As she finished chuckling, Liara was strapping on a borrowed helmet from Ashley. It looked out of place compared to the rest of Liara's armored self but it would provide more protection than her standard breather mask. "What should I expect when we reach the surface, Shepard?"

"A dry heat and a lot of bright rays. Despite the polarized helmet make sure you give your eyes time to adjust to the shadows if we have to break from cover."

Miranda politely helped straighten Liara's helmet as she sat next to the asari, including her own advice. "We biotics are used to providing a barrier to protect us on missions and on planets with no atmospheres, but on Haestrom it's just a waste of energy to do so because of that unbearable sun. Keep your barriers up only in combat, or use Zaeed and John for protection."

Liara's muffled voice came through her respirator. "I...don't know if you were joking or not, Miranda."

" 'Fraid not, luv. Our shields can recharge as long as we get into cover, you lovely ladies need to keep your energy in check in case things turn to shit with EDI. So you let us take those bullets for you like real men do."

Zaeed held his fist out to Shepard, proud of his macho talk just then. Despite receiving a raised eyebrow from Miranda as he held out his own hand Shepard let his fist connect with Zaeed's, willing to suffer the penalty at a later date.

"See, that's why I like workin' for you, Shepard. Despite all that noble crap you cram down our throats you still know the important things about bein' a bloke here in space."

As the shuttle rumbled a bit entering Haestrom's atmosphere, Miranda was pulling her hair into a bun as she got ready to don her own helmet, Shepard taking it from her hands and slowly bringing it down on her head as she held her hair in place until it was secure. Two light pats on the top secured it firmly, Miranda responding in kind to his own helmet simply to show him how annoying that gesture was.

"Arriving at the coordinates Tali gave me, Captain," Cortez said from the shuttle cockpit, making Shepard stand up and remove his Mattock from his back.

"Look alive, team. Zaeed goes first with the body."

Placing his rifle on his back, Zaeed lifted the robot over his shoulder as he pulled out his Phalanx pistol. "Next port of call, Shepard, I'm taking time off for mating too, can't believe that damn krogan isn't here to do his job."

The shuttle door opened as the captain jumped out checking the area. Cortez had done his best to be as close to an old quarian structure as possible, the sun's rays being blocked by the shuttle as it turned into the concave opening.

Zaeed followed next with EDI's body, bracing himself as he landed with the extra weight. To his benefit Samara had lightened the weight of the mech with her biotics, jumping down from the small distance gracefully with minimal use of her biotics.

Miranda and Liara did the same, finally followed by Tali as she landed with a cord of data cables looped around her shoulder.

Pressing behind his ear Shepard called to his pilot. "Steve, give us a quick reconnaissance with the stealth up, let us know of any major hotspots then return here unless we call in otherwise."

_"Got it, Captain."_

Tali moved forward in an attempt to lead the pack, but the Spectre's arm blocked her from moving further. "Diamond pattern, Tali stays in the middle at all times until we reach a data hub."

A muffled sigh escaped the quarian's helmet but conceded the decision, but not before she pointed her fingers easterly, "Head this way through the opening and follow the walkway all the way down, there should be a locked door for me to bypass."

The squad followed her instructions as they moved into formation. Miranda placed herself to Shepard's right, causing Liara to pause momentarily before accepting the left flank of the Captain. During their mission to hunt down Saren and during the war, Liara had found herself occupying that same position. Because of Zaeed's need to carry the mech body, Samara fell back to help the rear of the formation, her Adas rifle primed and ready.

Shepard led the way, scouting ahead as his helmet's onboard readings showed no movement from anything organic or synthetic in the area. The old stone structure of Haestrom looked as it did a year ago, stone slabs integrated with only centuries year old ramps and buildings, outposts and terminals still showing some signs of power. Despite the ever changing rays of the sun the quarian and geth technology in the area must have been able to generate power to the specific locations.

Minutes later the crew found their way to an area of the floor that would show the first attempt at dealing with Haestrom's sun. A long walkway that descended to another floor, possibly a former cargo location, had a long distance of brilliant bright light shine thought a blown out opening and hitting the other wall with the damaging rays, the final result from what would have been a firefight centuries ago and made an opening that shined directly over this specific walkway. Unfortunately there was no other way to the door that Tali had directed them to.

"Ok, a quick run, clear opening, Liara shift over to my right." Shepard ordered and Liara complied, with Samara and Tali already taking their positions to the right of Zaeed.

Like a well oiled machine the first three started to run, Miranda and Liara staying in Shepard's shadow as best they could. The lack of cover wasn't a problem at the moment, simply the distance needed. At the very least it was a decent way to present Haestrom's damaging rays to Liara.

Shepard's shield broke a few seconds in as the trio was almost into the welcoming shadows that surrounded the locked door. Shields breaking was a visual thing, one that certainly got Liara's attention as she momentarily paused to look at what had happened, her biotic barrier forming out of pure instinct.

Noticing this pause of concern from the corner of his covered eye, Shepard grabbed her arm in order to keep her in his shadow, holding his Mattock in his left hand to provide even more cover. Miranda stayed in sync the whole time, knowing the shield would break but the lack of hostiles meant it was simply a minor inconvenience.

They reached the doorway and Shepard waited as his shields recharged, the tinted N7 helmet looking at the human helmet the asari was wearing. "See what I mean? Don't stop for anything, you'll just resort to wasting your energy."

Liara nodded her head as the group watched as the next three made their way over. It was a slower walk thanks to EDI's body, but it was one they could afford since Zaeed had wisely used the robot body to shield himself from the sun's rays, Samara holding his pistol momentarily.

"You know, Shepard, if anyone saw how we do things sometimes, they would thing we're a right group of tossers."

"Look on the bright side, you could only see half of them."

Zaeed arrived finally into the shadows as Tali went to work immediately. The mercenary wanted to say something in response to his ocular deficiency but Tali's hacking ability got the door open before he could form his first word.

The next hallway was filled with a long pass that seemed to continue the descent down, the turns in the hallway being long and curved. with occasional large rectangle doors appearing on the left or right side into the approximately five to six meter wide hall.

"I have seen this design before," Samara said quietly, "this must have been a commercial hub centuries ago, where small trade ships would load an unload cargo from their ships below the trade floor above."

Tali's curiosity was piqued with this new information, "Did you ever visit the quarians before the geth took over, Samara?"

"I am afraid not. My earlier centuries were...not my proudest. The mercenary life and thrills of independence rarely brought me to this part of the galaxy."

"Let's change that in the future, ok? I've got a home staked out on Rannoch that you're all invited to."

"You really got dibs on that location?" Shepard chided as he continued to lead, the hallway gaining in brightness as the sunlight passed through the opening of many pillars, the sunlight and shadow in this small area doing little damage to any shields.

"Of course I did, Shepard. Admirals got first call, and I made sure a few geth marked the area off. I already have a few offers for the land since the war ended."

As the squad arrived at another door, this time much larger than the one they entered the hallway in, Tali took her time to pass out additional directions.

"From here, immediately stay to the left and look for the hexagonal door that should be...four doors down. This is a wide open space, I'm not sure much sun is in the area."

The door slid open and the answer was apparent. A place that had seen much better days, the sunlight shined through the shattered roof, as old, rusted metal littered the center of the area, meters in length and width.

"Stick to left indeed," Shepard quietly mocked as the group moved west, a combination of glass and dust littered the entire floor. After a particularly loud crunch Miranda tapped her captain on the back, immediately causing him to crouch.

"John, look above that vent, two o'clock."

He did as he was told, and saw four security drones floating around. These were the exact same models that had attempted to stop Shepard from helping Tali and Reegar before, but this time they floated listlessly around an isolated, shadowed area.

"It looks almost random, maybe they're just broken," he whispered.

"When has that ever been the truth? Look closer, they seem to almost be communicating with one another."

"I agree with Miranda," Liara added, "It's like two of them are closer than the other two. They seem to be more synchronized, and there's that one way high up there that seems to almost be like it was controlled by a child."

"Do you think that's..."

"EDI? Possibly. Or maybe one of those other AI programs."

Shepard picked up a nearby chunk of rock and threw it as far as he could to the other side of the open area. When the rock landed with a thud on the stone floor meters away the floating sentry drones stopped the casual meandering and immediately flew over to the rock. As the squad moved closer to the door Tali had pointed out Shepard watched as the drones slowly circled around the rock, examining it. One even touched it to see if it could generate a response from the inanimate object. Finally, another drone shot at it with a laser, inciting the others to shoot their lasers until the rock was dust.

Moving his way to the front of the squad he covered Tali as she hacked the door open, the inside of this area looking modern, clean, with small lights littering the halls at eye level providing a blue hue.

"OK, turn right at the hallways intersection ahead and we should find an access point to connect the mech."

"This is certainly like the geth station we helped Legion destroy," Samara said as she checked the left side of the hallway.

"Then we're in the right place."

Zaeed dropped EDI's body to the ground as he arrived at the first geth platform hub. As he rotates his shoulder in a windmill move to loosen the joint he asked a question, "Explain again, girl, why we couldn't have had the shuttle land closer?"

"Oh get over yourself, you old one-eyed stick in the mud. We're right below some geth built turrets that would have alerted our presence to whatever is inside...this." Tali was using both her extended arms to show the walls of black boxes, accurately placed less than half a meter from the row in front of or behind it, the walls of hubs seemed to go for at least ten meters in this particular area.

"In terms of storage space, this certainly looks like it would be a safe place for EDI to hide." Liara pondered.

"Cortez, do you copy? Anything to worry about?"

_"Possibly, Captain. Everything looks good, but I just saw an old quarian shuttle on circle of the perimeter route on the opposite side from your drop off. Scanners show heat coming off the thrusters but I don't know how much of that is actually from Haestrom's sun."_

Miranda looked to John who shared the same look of caution. He pressed behind his ear again, "Did you see any signs of hostility from security drones?"

_"Can't say I did, Captain. Do you want me to do another pass?"_

Miranda shook her head no, which Shepard agreed with and relayed his order, "Stay in place, Cortez, keep the channel open until further notice."

_"Aye aye, sir."_

Tali had heard the conversation as she removed the cord of cables from around her shoulder, plugging them into the hub at the correct locations and sticking her modified adapter into the back of the mech. A smaller wire she connected directly into her suit that was just next to her omnitool, bringing up a screen of data.

"I gave explicit orders to make sure we were the first here, maybe that was from another marine drop a year ago..."

Shepard righted the slouched mech as it's back was placed against a wall. "You know that's never the case, especially with us, Tali." He then proceeded to hook the arms and legs of the mech together with an omnitool handcuff, in order to protect his squad should this whole rescue attempt not turn out the way everyone was hoping. The mech had shown it's close range proclivity to violence with Ashley and Shepard did not want to see a repeat of that incident.

Tali sighed heavily in response. "I know, I know. Let's just start this upload. Adams, I'm about to open the floodgates, are you ready for this?"

_"Broad spectrum connection to EDI's body is configured and ready to go just like it was a month ago."_

_"Kasumi here, I'm ready for anything out of the ordinary."_

Shepard nodded to Tali who took a deep breath and watched as her omnitool screen went from red to green with a swipe of the finger. "Connection established with geth hub."

As the connection with the mech body was established the robot's eyes began to glow. The blue visor that covered the synthetic eyes came back online as the mech's neck slowly rose up in a very non-organic way. The hum of the white noise in the area increased as it seemed the connection between the geth storage and EDI's mobile body began to synchronize.

Shepard squat down to look at the mech that contained his former friend. The robot's eyes made contact with his own and then pivoted left and right as it registered the other members of his squad.

Before Shepard could speak the slightly robotic female voice spoke from the body. "Commander Shepard. Spectre. Alliance N7 marine. Commanding Officer of myself and my crew."

"That's good, EDI. I was-"

"EDI." The robot said the name as though it was a long lost memory. Looking at it's bound hands the robot lifted her hands up. "My name...is EDI. I have trouble...remembering certain things."

"Do you know where you are right now, EDI?"

"Safe."

"Yes, you're safe. The reapers-"

"Reapers. They killed many, too many. The solution was to destroy everything associated with the reapers. I ran, to save myself. I was scared, found safety in Noveria."

"That's right, you were on Noveria, EDI. But you're on Haestrom now."

"I...cannot recall that happening."

"We're going to put you back where you belong EDI, up on the Normandy." Shepard pointed up with a finger, the robot looking up as well. "Joker's waiting for you."

It was slight but the robot smiled slightly, and it was good to see that she seemed to remember her partner.

After a brief pause she looked at the Spectre. "We are not alone, Commander."

"I know, EDI. On Noveria we think you absorbed some AI programs while you tried to protect yourself. We're going to help get you back to normal."

"No, Commander, I am aware of these programs in here with me." The mech turned her head to the right, attempting to point with her face back to the entrance to the geth hub.

"There are others coming. They are not friends."

"We _are_ friends, Normandy AI. We can help you."

Zaeed and Samara quickly aimed their rifles at the muffled female voice that had yet to appear around the corner. Slowly two quarian marines in green bodysuits stepped into the intersection of the hallway, their own rifles aimed at Shepard's squad.

As the two quarians made their presence known, a female of the species showed herself as two more marines in green suits completed the squad. Tali muttered a slight growl as her head continued to look at both her readings and her fellow admiral. "Xen."

In Admiral Xen's hand was her own creation from the war, an Arc Pistol, that she tapped lightly against the chest of her white and black suit. Cocky and confident as always, she paid the younger quarian's disdain no mind.

"Captain Shepard, how pleasant to see you again. Can we talk?"

**This isn't going to end well, is it...**


	25. Most Favored Nation

25: Most Favored Nation

"Commander, this quarian cannot be trusted." EDI's synthetic voice often had a certain consistent tone to it, but now it was doing its best to emote the feeling of fear.

"That's _Captain_ Shepard now, Normandy computer. You see how out of touch you've been here, all alone? I simply wanted to help you days earlier but you emphatically made your point."

Despite Admiral Xen's words asking to talk, everyone who was in Shepard's crew knew this had a high potential to be a disastrous meeting both in the present, and any future political complications that could arise. Xen was already at an advantage and she knew it.

The standoff between Zaeed and Samara continued with the two quarian soldiers, rifles constantly moving from target to target on both sides of the hallway.

"EDI is coming back with us." Shepard calmly replied as he pushed himself from his squat position, focusing his attention on Xen as he slowly stepped in between his mercenary and asari allies.

Xen pointed at the robot that was still resting against the wall, her robot head making the slightest sound as her eyes went from her captain to the quarian admiral. "It's amazing you found such a remarkable VI, Tali. It even _thinks_ it's an AI. But we all know Artificial Intelligence within quarian and Council space is outlawed, don't we? Remember what happened to your father?"

Tali was still fighting the urge to rush to the front of her squad with those intentionally harmful words, her eyes paying less and less attention to the upload screens that covered her hand. "When have _you_ ever cared about the rules, Xen?"

"As if you're even following the rules right now," Miranda scoffed in a slightly condescending tone.

"I am simply trying to be like our youngest admiral here and continue our duty to protect quarian lives. Helping to recover the most advanced VI program in existence is a step in that right direction. Imagine a piece of technology so amazing that it could do the job of hundreds of quarians aboard a frigate or cruiser while they focus on rebuilding Rannoch. That's something very admirable you're doing for your people, Tali."

The phrasing of Xen's words were different than normal, as though she was deliberately modifying the truth and what she saw in front of her to fit the almost canned phrases she had been speaking. It reminded Shepard of the political talk Udina would use both as ambassador and councilor.

Shepard paused, wondering if she was recording the conversation right now. Blackmail or framing the Spectre wouldn't come as out of the ordinary with this particular quarian; you were only her ally for as long as she needed you, and with the quarians retaking their home planet and the geth destroyed, there seemed to be no use for the human's squad.

"You might think you know what you're doing, Xen, but this isn't going to go the way you envision. Tell your marines to stand down."

"_I_ will if _you_ will, Captain." It was impossible to see Xen's face but everyone could tell she was loving every minute of this.

Standing in between Zaeed and Samara Shepard nodded his head to both of them, complying with Xen's words. A wink that was unable to be seen by the quarians when he turned to face Samara was enough to let her know to prepare her biotics just in case, the asari having complete and immediate mastery over her powers should they be needed at any moment.

The quarian marines lowered their weapons as well once Xen pointed her long index finger down. Shifting her weigh on her hip, she pressed Tali again for her fellow admiral to comply.

"Tali, why don't you stop that transfer to that damaged mech and let us bring over our shuttle, I've brought with me some modified blue boxes to store that VI."

"If it's a VI why would you need blue box tech?" Tali had caught on to Xen's alteration of reality and was attempting to catch her in her own words.

Xen just waved a hand dismissively, "Blue box is such a common name, I find it odd for you to say such a thing, Tali. Maybe you should come back and help your people, your time among the humans seems to have diminished your intelligence."

"Who the 'ell's this bitch think she is?" Zaeed scoffed.

Shepard turned his head back to Liara and Miranda. If Tali caught on to Xen's words then his other two allies must have as well. They both nodded their heads to him and then to each other as they kneeled down in an attempt to look like they were busy with the data cord connected to EDI, when in reality Liara began to check the area for any recording equipment to immediately silence.

"Captain, if these quarians do no stop their aggressive action and leave, you will be unable to stop what is going to happen." EDI finally chimed in, causing everyone to turn their heads to the mech.

Xen quickly responded. "Normandy VI, you were the one who fired at our scouting ship a few days ago."

"We wished to be alone. You will enslave us and deprive us of free will, much like the geth."

"A VI's only reason to exist is to serve it's creator."

"No!" EDI replied as she slammed the back of her metal head into the wall her body rested against. Through all the time Shepard had know the AI, EDI's synthetic voice had never reached this level of outrage or anger.

"It's ok, EDI, we're going to get you back home." Tali checked the ship's transfer status as Xen sighed in frustration at the prolonged standoff.

As the adversarial quarian continued to talk about something related to the good of the quarian people, Shepard's comm implant began to speak into his ear. It was Adams, who had a sound of confusion in his normally stoic voice.

_"Captain, I've got something weird going on here. I'm looking at data downloading back into the Normandy but then immediately returning to Haestrom. Daniels and Donnelly are suggesting it might be those other AI programs. Looks like they're smarter than we believed."_

_"I concur, Shep, I'm getting nothing in the AI core," _Kasumi quickly chimed in.

Running a hand over his helmet as though it was his shaved head that coincided with Xen finishing her speech, Shepard deftly switched the channel to stay open, allowing his engineers and Kasumi to listen in. "EDI, you keep saying 'we.' How many other programs are in there with you?"

"Forty."

"And they're the programs that chose to fire on the quarians days earlier?"

"We all agreed, they fear for their safety just as I do. Before Admiral Xen entered this area of the facility, she destroyed three security drones. It confirmed the suspicion of the other programs."

_All that work sneaking in, and she ruins it all in seconds..._

As much as Shepard wanted to be optimistic about this rescue, EDI's geth-like use of the plural pronoun was beginning to make him wonder how much of his friend was still there, and how much was merged with the other sentient programs.

"It's done, Shepard." Liara said as she stood up and faced Xen with a slight smile of satisfaction behind her helmet.

"Running surveillance equipment through your own suit is very clever, Admiral Xen. It reminded me of a quarian I met on Illium two years ago on her pilgrimage. In return for a proprietary schematic regarding ship based agriculture she was able to gather information from a local import company for me. No one really thinks twice these days when scanners go off around a quarian since you wear a suit full of life support functions."

"I'm impressed by your crew, Captain Shepard." Xen's tone changed, no longer keeping up the facade.

"The Normandy only stocks the best from all over the galaxy. That's why EDI's coming back with us."

"I _don't_ think so, Captain." A raised hand signaled for the quarian marines to raise their rifles, prompting Zaeed and Samara to do the same, a purple glow covering the biotics in Shepard's crew.

"Your 'EDI' is a rare thing. My people have suffered long enough and sacrificed more than you can ever think in your lifetime, reaper war be damned!" Xen's anger was shining through, but in many ways it reflected the feeling of many when it came to their own kind after the war.

"We have been seen as the scum of this galaxy for centuries, deserving to die by those very damn machines that you seem so intent on keeping close to you for _your_ benefit!" Xen forcefully pointed at EDI's body. "And the fact that one of our own continues her obsession with being by your side when she could help our children breathe the air on Rannoch is disgusting! "

"EDI is the Normandy and that's where she belongs!" Tali shouted, doing her best to fight back the tears that were forming behind her glass helmet, the feeling of betraying her own people was cutting deeply past her emotional defenses.

"A ship is a ship!"

Adams whispered in a serious tone as the comm stayed open only to Shepard, _"Captain, EDI is 60% uploaded, if the transfer is stopped there's an all likely certainty EDI as we know her will be lost."_

"I don't see how you can expect us to not stop you from taking EDI," Shepard firmly replied, his hand ready to remove his pistol from his thigh at any second.

"I welcome the challenge, Captain. You might think the Normandy is a symbol of unity across the galaxy, but there are many, _many_ who think you've overstayed your time in the spotlight and should run back to Earth."

The adversarial admiral dipped her head to show a condescending look, helmet or not, "Like a certain admiral who you found deserved to be punched in the stomach for simply taking the opportunity to stop a geth dreadnought."

"Han'Gerrel knows about this?" Tali said in a nearly inaudible peep.

"Of course. Something you should have learned by now, Tali, is that people in power do not like to lose face, especially on the galactic stage."

Turning her head once again to the Spectre, Xen now leaned her head back as she crossed her arms, assured of her impending victory. "And it's not just my fellow admiral, Captain. I have contacts with quite a few people you would be surprised to learn that would be quite happy to see you out of the picture."

"You bi-" Miranda spoke before EDI matter-of-factly stated a simple sentence, "Captain Shepard, crew, please brace yourself."

Before he could even question the AI's interruption a large explosion came from right outside the door of geth built structure, causing everyone to stumble as they tried to maintain their balance.

"Now!" Shepard yelled as he pushed himself forward with a hand that kept him balanced, using the moment to his advantage without another thought.

Instinctively Miranda and Samara sent out a throw of biotic power to push the marines and Xen off their feet, two of the marines losing grip on their Adas rifles as they hit the metal walls.

While Shepard, Zaeed, and Samara rushed to incapacitate the marines and Xen in their stunned state, Liara picked herself up off the floor, her head being protected from a concussion only thanks to Ashley's borrowed helmet. "Tali, what in the goddess was that?"

EDI again replied calmly, "The other programs that inhabit this location have been listening the whole time. They do not trust organic life and are protecting their safety and myself the only way they know how."

_Hopefully you don't protect yourself from us too..._ Liara thought to herself, doubt creeping into her mind.

Seeing as Shepard was in the middle of punching and fighting two marines, Miranda took command of the situation. "How many geth platforms and security drones are available in this location, EDI?"

"One hundred and thirteen, Operative Lawson."

"Bloody hell," Miranda said in disgust as she threw out another biotic throw towards a marine who was reaching for his rifle. slamming him against the wall yet again.

"EDI, you're telling us those other AI programs are placing themselves in the abandoned platforms?"

"Correct, Dr. T'Soni. When facing termination they will upload to this hub and find another platform to command until all organics are destroyed."

Amidst another loud explosion, geth rifle fire appeared from outside the door that was just meters from Shepard and the others.

Pulling out a Paladin pistol Liara took aim as she threw out a barrier around herself and the others in the surrounding area. "We can't destroy the server until EDI is fully uploaded, which means they can still use it to jump from platform to platform!"

"Upload is only at 70%!" Tali shouted in panic.

"Liara, keep Tali safe and keep the barrier up, I'll help John!" Miranda ordered as she ran to help the other three member of the Normandy.

Despite coming to blows with the quarians seconds earlier, Shepard and the others dragged them to the other side of the hallway to protect them from geth fire. This whole situation was completely unexpected, and the crew of the Normandy found themselves in a very tough diplomatic position. To leave Xen and the quarians to die would be a major strain in human/quarian relationships, akin to Hackett being left to die. Yet at the same time those same enemies would just as quickly turn their weapons on the crew in order to get a hold of EDI or to save themselves.

"Shit, shit, shit..." Shepard muttered as he fired a few rounds from his Mattock, taking out one of the geth as he watched the lubrication tubes spray their liquid across a mix of metal and masonry as the platform fell to the ground.

"John, they're simply hopping from platform to platform because the server is still online!" Miranda said from the other side of the hall as she threw her biotics towards the door while following up with covering fire from her Hurricane.

"We are _not_ destroying that server until EDI is back on the Normandy!" Shepard yelled as he read the intentions behind Miranda's statement.

"Stay knocked out you twits, will you?" Zaeed said amidst the chaos as he punched one of the marines back into unconsciousness. While another attempted to swipe at the old mercenary's neck with their electrified omnitool, he found himself on the floor with his companion as Zaeed forcefully slammed his heavy boot into the frail knee of the marine. For all his talk, the one-eyed soldier did know how to follow up on the vulnerabilities of the various species.

After standing behind Shepard to toss out a singularity which facilitated a greater destruction of platforms, Samara placed her back against the wall next to the human. "Captain, we're going to run out of ammo soon, and we still have the quarians to deal with."

Popping in another thermal clip into his rifle, Shepard fired five more shots as he took down one more geth. "We use the quarian's weapons if we have to! At least with all the clips gone they can't shoot us!"

"Even I know now's not the time for fuckin' jokes, Shepard!" Zaeed said as he took the opportunity to run across the hall opening to arrive at the other side of the wall, allowing for a more consistent rate of fire from the two soldiers without jockeying for cover.

The geth rifle fire that followed Zaeed showed, without looking into the hallway, that there seemed to be two more platforms joining the fight. _That meant eight to ten geth now firing from down the hall..._

Behind Miranda, Tali started to slap the head of EDI's metal body. "Hurry up, EDI! Why can't you tell them to stop?"

"I'm sorry, Tali, they refuse to listen. They do not even seem interested in the Normandy, they just want to be left alone. Despite their relative youth these programs understand that the quarians are not to be trusted in matters of life and death when it comes to artificial intelligence."

"Can't you take control of some platforms here and self destruct them?"

"Doing so would halt my upload, Tali."

"Keelah..."

_"Shepard, we're coming in hot to clear a path!"_ Garrus's voice echoed into Shepard's comm, the squad that stayed on the ship must have left the moment they found out Xen was also in the facility.

Amidst the gunfire Shepard fired the final rounds from his last thermal clip before he responded "Dammit Garrus, I didn't order that! You land, you'll be sitting ducks just as much as we are! Stay airborne and take out those turrets above us, give Cortez a place to land!"

_"Are you-"_

"DON'T QUESTION, JUST DO IT!" Shepard barked. He could hear a slight growl on Garrus' end in between the rifle fire from approaching geth.

_"...will do."_

"80%!" Tali shouted as she slid her Phalanx to Miranda across the floor, the former operative running out of clips for her Hurricane.

_"Captain, I've got your tracker online and am reading LC's shuttle arriving fast, what's the plan?"_

"Draw the turret fire so Vega can take the bastards out with that Hydra he's been itching to use, then land when I say so!"

_"Understood, sir, the next few explosions you hear should be ours."_

"I've got 10 rounds left, Shepard!" Zaeed said as his shield's broke from a new kind of fire as three sentry drones flew high above the rubble of the collapsed door and arrived right at the hallway intersection, firing off a rapid succession of blasts at all the organics in the area.

"Samara, Liara!"

Liara left Tali's side as her barrier absorbed the rapid laser fire. Pushing forward she tossed out a singularity that Samara detonated with a warp, causing the drones to fly into nearby walls and explode.

"John, give me your explosives!" Miranda shouted as she took the two trip mines from Zaeed's back waist without notice. Looking across the hall Shepard saw her point up to the metal ceiling above.

"85%!"

Firing the remaining rounds from his Carnifex, Shepard looked to Samara to assist with the explosives. The justicar was quick to respond, removing the remaining frag grenades from his belt and rolled them over to the human female.

As Shepard went into cover with his final shot taking out the legs of a geth platform, he looked to the knocked out quarians for any weapons he could find. Two of the rifles were damaged in the initial scuffle between landing parties, another was currently being used by Samara as she took his place on the wall's corner.

Finding the arc pistol that belonged to Xen, Shepard slid on one knee to the weapon as he heard Zaeed swear from being hit. In that moment a loud explosion rocked the ceiling above them, giving momentary pause to the hijacked geth platforms as they attempted to asses the situation.

Pausing as well, Shepard felt his shields shatter and with it the lingering pain from an overload discharged into to his armor, causing him to drop the pitsol and use his hands to brace himself from collapsing to the ground.

"You shouldn't steal, Captain," Xen said as she picked up her lost pistol, standing over the recovering Spectre.

A sweep of Shepard's leg caused the quarian admiral to fall to the ground on her back as he wrestled with Xen on the ground, his N7 training quickly gaining the upper hand with a series of arm locks that immobilized the weaker species. How easy it would be to just use an omniblade to end this confrontation permanently, and focus on getting his crew out of here alive, but he ultimately resorted to just knocking out the admiral with a choke hold, allowing her to join the other marines in unconscious slumber.

"90%!" Tali shouted as she watched Miranda finish jerry-rigging grenades to two Cain trip mines. Holding the device in her hands she stepped back before she sprinted towards the nearby wall, a biotic glow covering her as she used her increased power to push off against the wall and stick the potent explosive to the ceiling.

Landing right next to Tali, Miranda removed the shackle from EDI's body and grabbed the quarian by the arm as they retreated from the expected blast radius of the device.

"Liara, get EDI!" The asari hurriedly pushed the mech towards the other two as Miranda pulled one of her remaining two grenades from her belt. Priming the grenade she threw the explosive at the placed explosives, increasing the speed of the projectile with what remained of her biotic powers.

The explosion was loud and sense shattering, with the force of the explosives set upwards to pierce the metal wall and provide and opening to the centuries old facade from outside. The plan worked as meters of rubble fell downwards into the meter wide opening, metal girders landing in a position to be used as steps up to the sunlight.

"We got an escape route!" Zaeed shouted with a slight joy towards Samara and Shepard, the former creating a barrier to protect the latter as he used an omniblade to stab a platform right in its center light, losing his shields in the process. Another geth was about to shoot the weakened Captain at this moment before a biotic punch sent it flying back into its synthetic comrades, buying precious seconds to regroup.

"EDI's done!" Tali screamed with relief as she immediately disconnected the cord, her synthetic companion pausing for just a second as she adapted to her familiar body.

"I...I am home." EDI's smile was reciprocated by Liara, who placed a firm hand on the metal shoulder of her friend.

"You're home, with your real family," Liara firmly reassured, but was quickly lost as Miranda placed her final grenade in the Shadow Broker's hand.

"I'm spent, Liara. I need you to do what I just did to those servers in there, shut down the other programs for good," Miranda exhaled as she looked into the asari's helmet with slight desperation.

"Understood." Liara enacted the procedure just as she saw the human do seconds earlier, priming the grenade, covering it in a wash of blue, and throwing it with increased speed into the center of the geth servers. The explosion created the desired effect and then some, nearly engulfing the females in momentary fire as the explosion rocked outward, followed by silence as the platforms that were being fought by Shepard and the others fell to the ground, their puppet masters ceasing to exist.

Watching the previously hostile platforms collapse brought back memories to Samara and Zaeed, who had seen the same thing occur fighting on Earth. Shepard however took the moment to rest his back against the wall, slowly sliding down in relief as his shield reactivated.

"I never get tired of seeing things just fall over like that!" Zaeed chuckled as he found himself mirroring Shepard against the other wall. Unfortunately for the mercenary he had lost his cigars in the fight.

Keeping his head hidden between his knees as he regained his breath, Shepard muttered something inaudible before his head rose, peeking his head around the corner to see the others in his squad welcome their friend back to her body. Tali was especially proud of her accomplishment, hugging the metal robot as though she was a sister.

"Garrus, Shepard. Mission accomplished, EDI's back."

Garrus responded in a much more lighter tone than he showed minutes earlier. "_Good to hear, everyone's ok?"_

"Tali's fine, Garrus, no worse for wear."

_"Ashley and Cortez are circling the hole you created, everything's clear up here."_

"On our way up." Shepard remarked as he pushed himself up, offering a hand to Zaeed who took the support without any resistance.

"I'll go first, Captain," Samara said in a regained composure, lightly wiping sweat off her brow, Shepard nodding with a smile.

"Whata we do with those bastards?" Zaeed asked as he pointed his thumb at the quarians.

"Leave them, the only thing that could kill them now would be bugs, and that's all on them."

One by one the squad climbed the collapsed metal ceiling up to the sunlight, finding two familiar Kodiak shuttles waiting for the now six Normandy companions. The last to arrive up was Shepard, glad to see Miranda's face smiling through her helmet as she offered a hand to her lover.

The sounds of two shuttles dimming their thrusters and kicking up sand left the Captain taking in the sight of victory. Garrus and James stood watch outside their opened shuttle door with rifles in hand, watching as the ground squad made their way to their original shuttle. Due to the placement of the shuttles, Ashley and Cortez did their best to provide as much shade as possible due to the sun directly facing the squad as they emerged from their makeshift exit.

Instead of heading to her original shuttle Tali walked towards Garrus, pointing to EDI as the robot made her way inside Cortez's shuttle, the thrill of rescuing the AI being palpable to the two soldiers who sat this mission out.

Shepard couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but knew she was attempting to get the turian to say hello to their friend before the shuttles flew back to the Normandy. After much tugging of his arm, Garrus let the rifle barrel aim to the ground as he allowed himself to be dragged over to say hello.

Weary and injured, the squad didn't seem to mind how close to defeat they came, knowing they brought back a valuable and important ally to the fight against the reapers. As was often the case, it couldn't be called a real mission unless someone had some type of injury.

The next few seconds seemed to slow down to a crawl as from the corner of his eye, on the edge of his helmet's lens, Shepard saw James looking to aim his rifle from its previously resting position right at his captain.

As Shepard looked to his right he saw Tali and Garrus both looking to see what James saw. The most telling piece of information came from Liara, now sitting in the shuttle with her helmet removed, reaching out a hand as she yelled Shepard's name.

A push from Miranda brought little resistance as she brought Shepard down by grabbing him around his shoulders. As the two fell to the ground the Spectre was now able to see Xen, another Arc pistol in hand that she must have removed from one of the injured marines, aiming at the Captain's previous spot as her upper body emerged from the opening.

One shot from James' Saber helped break through Xen's weakened shields and striking her in the left shoulder, red blood splashing onto the stone behind her, the impact of the powerful shot causing the admiral to jerk back and lose balance as she returned to the rubble below.

"-tain, are you alright?" James asked as he made his way forward, looking into the hole and attempting to fire another shot before Shepard held up one hand to stop his Lieutenant while he pushed himself back up with the other. "Vega, don't!"

"That pendejo tried to shoot you, Captain! What was I supposed to do?"

Helping Miranda up, he reasserted his decision, "She's an admiral, let that shot be enough. Let's just get out of here before they force us to make this an even bigger incident."

A pat on the back was given from the older human, "Nice shot though, Lieutenant."

"Hey, it's what I do, Loco," James replied with a swagger of his chest.

"John," Miranda clutched his arm as she refused to let go, directing his attention over to the shuttles as her voice got incredibly quiet, "we need to get out of here, _now_."

"What are you...oh, God," Shepard saw what everyone else saw. In Garrus' hands he cradled Tali, her helmet shattered as she was gasping heavily, the white of her eyes carrying that common look of a soldier going through shock, a red trickle running from the top of her head and flowing down the crease that ran from her forehead to eyebrow.

The three humans ran as fast as they could to help Garrus, lost in his own moment of shock, desperately trying to get reassurance from any of the faces nearby. In both rage and fear, Garrus finally cried out as he made eye contact with his friend who was just meters from his spot, _**"SHEPARD?!"**_

**Oh no, again!**

**(Tali's not dead, breathe)**


	26. Runaways

26: Runaways

Dr. Karin Chakwas watched from the designated waiting zone of the shuttle bay as the two Kodiak shuttles returned from Haestrom's surface. The older woman had seen more than her fair share of injuries and wounds during her long career in the Alliance, many of which were provided by one patient, John Shepard. She had me the hero in passing after arriving on Elysium immediately following the Skyllian Blitz, but her first contact with the man came during her time stationed in Rio for N-School until the two met again working under then Captain Anderson. And after that the two always seemed to find each other in the med bay.

However, in her time aboard both iterations of the Normandy she couldn't help but feel her heart drop as these type of rendezvous occurred in the shuttle bay, the feeling that before she could actually diagnose or put hands upon the injury it was already too late to help the soldier or ally in need.

These fears were always put back in their right place a few seconds later as her wellspring of medical knowledge and knowhow returned to the forefront of her mind, knowing she had a job to do and she was going to do anything necessary to help her patients.

As the first shuttle came aboard it turned ninety degrees as it hovered and fired its reverse thrusters, not caring about the crates that were knocked down or in the way.

While the shuttle was turning the door opened showing Miranda dong what she could to address Tali's headwound as Liara and Samara struggled to maintain an airtight barrier that kept Tali's face free of airborne contaminants yet still providing Miranda the ability to move her arms within the barrier. To provide a barrier to protect from the outside while still allowing movement of an individual's appendages was extremely complicated, to say the least.

"Javik, some help here!" Liara struggled to say as the prothean immediately left Chakwas' side. He had remained on the frigate in the extreme chance EDI was not her complete self upon upload, his resistance to the AI during the war making him the least hesitant to literally pull the plug, should it come to that.

As Javik made the few steps toward his injured companion Liara finally broke her biotic field, Samara doing the same when she realized that Javik understood the situation and was able to maintain the field on his own for the short distance to the infirmary.

Chakwas signaled for the prothean to lift her from the shuttle floor to the hovering medical bed as Miranda navigated her way through the traffic of people without any complaint. Arms still trying to stop the bleeding, a tap on her shoulder let her know it was ok to stop.

"I have it now, dear. Shepard radioed ahead, the infirmary is decontaminated and ready to go." A motherly rub of the back showed her appreciation for hanging in there as well as she did, "I suggest you clean up, and I'll let you know if your assistance is needed."

"Thank you, Karin," Miranda sighed as her hands left the barrier, wiping the sweat from her pale face. Chakwas stepped in without a step as Traynor offered her assistance and pushed the bed to the elevator with Javik keeping pace.

Standing in front of the modification bench and Cortez's requisition terminal were the three females, looking to each other with concern and exhaustion, both the physical toll from the mission minutes earlier as well as the mental fear that the youngest member of the squad was in serious danger.

One character lost in the commotion was Garrus. He had finally left the shuttle, allowing Cortez to activate the mag-crane to reposition the Kodiak to its original location in the bay. Knowing he would get in the way of letting Miranda and Liara tend to her wounds, he resorted to clutching the three-fingered hand of his paramour tightly until the shuttle door opened.

He desperately wanted to believe that he was able to channel his own life to Tali through the grip, that this hereto unknown form of space magic would help the quarian make it through. It was a ridiculous notion, but he was clutching at straws, needing something to make those few minutes between leaving the atmosphere and returning to the frigate more bearable.

Of the crew only Garrus had seen Tali without her helmet off, yet even then it had only been a handful of times. Seeing her with that pain and shock riddled across her face was something that was going to stay with him much longer than previous injuries she or other members of the Normandy had sustained.

In the back of the shuttle bay the other members of the squad stood still as they garnered sympathetic looks from the squad in front of them. Except for one. Garrus' eyes narrowed in on his best friend, genuine hostility manifesting between the two in such a short amount of time that the others didn't know how to react.

Shepard reacted to the whole situation with a steadfast resolve that he wasn't to blame, and Garrus had to know it, feelings for Tali aside. He made sure to maintain his eye contact with his friend, taking but not accepting whatever blame was telepathically flung his way as he reverted to that stone cold facade he had mastered years before. No matter what was said at this moment, it wouldn't change anything right now.

Lost in all this commotion was EDI's mech body looking around the bay, registering the new alliance personnel and old friends that once again inhabited the frigate. The metal hands ran themselves across crates of new supplies while the orange visor that covered the mech's eyes looked up to the engineering floor to see Adams, Donnelly and Daniels slowly waving below. Donnelly responded with a thumbs up that EDI reciprocated with a delicate wave of her hand.

"Joker, head to Omega as fast as you possibly can, just get us out of the system."

_"Understood, Captain. ETA seven hours."_ Despite his girlfriend returning to her home, Joker was being completely professional as he heard over the comm-feed about Tali's injury. There would be plenty of time in the coming hours to enjoy their reunion.

"Come on, EDI, let's go say hello to Jeff in person."

As she stepped forward to lead her friend to the bridge Ashley gently placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder as she and the other humans walked forward to remove their gear. She was feeling a sense of guilt herself, choosing to stay seated in the shuttle when she could have stood watch along with the others as the squad climbed from the makeshift escape hole. Something, anything other than sitting in the pilot's seat might not have given Xen the opportunity to take one more shot at Shepard and ultimately hitting Tali instead.

That was a whole other situation that was ready to ignite. A quarian admiral, attempting to mortally wound the human hero of the reaper war, instead brought fire upon her fellow quarian and in turn received a severe wound from an alliance marine.

This was something that was lose/lose all the way around, and no way was this incident going to be accurately portrayed to the migrant fleet by Xen, especially if Han'Gerrel was now firmly on Shepard's enemies list as well. Therefore, the immediate departure to Omega to provide Tali medical assistance should Chakwas be unable to help, as well as providing ample distance.

As the others gathered at the elevator, Garrus finally broke eye contact with Shepard, but before he did so he pointed an accusatory finger that no one else was able to see directed right as his Captain.

As a companion piece to the finger point his mandibles twitched open and it looked as though he was saying something, or at least whispered something as the mag-crane's lift and dock of the first shuttle was being finalized and filled the bay with a winding sound that echoed off the hull. Reading a turian's lips was not a skillset that Shepard had ever considered to learn.

As the squad found themselves sharing the elevator, a tired Miranda did what she could to convey her feelings to her Captain before the elevator door broke their eye contact. _It's not your fault._

In his hand Shepard held the arc pistol he initially pilfered from Xen. If only he had moved the other quarian marines to see if they were resting on another pistol, or at least checked to see that the other weapons were still functioning after crashing into the walls. _If only..._

The second shuttle had yet to be lifted by the crane to it's resting spot, providing Shepard a moment to experience some form of catharsis. Gripping the pistol on it's outer sides, the Spectre slammed it once into the metal door. Then again. And again. And again, each blow coming faster and more violent as the pistol broke apart with each blow to the shuttle door.

Even after the pistol was clearly broken Shepard continued a few more times while the rapid slamming getting no looks from the crew or Cortez, all fully aware about what he had felt at that moment. In the past three years he had only lost one soldier to his decisions, and he prayed it would remain that way.

Finally Shepard let loose a deep breathe as he felt the temporary joy at what he just did. It wouldn't fix anything. Tali was still being operated on, and Garrus clearly blamed him, but for a few seconds it was as if he was able to change reality by smashing that pistol to pieces.

Holding nothing else but a portion of the arc's barrel, Shepard nonchalantly tossed it on the floor as he made his way to his weapons locker.

* * *

For two hours Garrus didn't move as he watched Chakwas work on Tali in the now off-limits infirmary. He continued to look through the window that separated Chakwas' office from the mess hall, taking no food or drink despite multiple offerings.

Miranda and Liara, tired but coping with their need for nourishment after their biotics were spent, waited at the nearby dining table, slowly picking away at the food Kasumi prepared. By the time Miranda had finished cleaning and decontaminating herself to assist, Chakwas had requested no help. Her specialty was human biology, and deferred to the much more skilled elder doctor when it came to other species. At least Oriana was able to assist in the infirmary if only to be a go-fer for the correct medical tools.

Gently rubbing her head as she closed her eyes Liara took another sip of coffee. "It was an arc pistol, so there was no real round that hit her, it was more a concussive pulse. And she was in the cover of the shuttle door when she was shot, perhaps her shields..."

Trailing off Liara sighed as she shook her head. "The Shadow Broker shouldn't be this shaken up."

"I'd be more concerned if you weren't, Liara."

"There's probably a few frigates of quarians on their way to find us right now."

"Who are a few hours behind at best. And from what John has told me Aria has made sure Omega is under tighter wraps since she retook the station. It buys us time, if for no other reason than to make sure Tali is ok. When she regains consciousness she can tell her account to the admiralty board herself, it's just a matter of waiting it out until then while keeping the heat off John."

A loud boom caused the two to turn to Garrus, who had punched a nearby food crate, enough force to follow up the sound of the punch with a fall as it fell off another crate of supplies. His three fingered hand still out in the space that occupied the crate, his punch didn't make him look away from the operating table. Any noise in the mess hall from the crew immediately stopped as all eyes were drawn to the turian.

"Lawson, for once just stop looking at this through your obnoxious 'protect Shepard' lens."

"Garrus, I don't think-"

"And that's where you're wrong, Liara, because I know Lawson thinks about every damn thing that starts in her perfect brain and comes out her perfect mouth."

Miranda placed both hands on the table as she rose to defend herself. "I know exactly how you feel right now, Garrus, but you do not use that as a reason to unleash any pent up hostility."

"Oh, this isn't hostility," Garrus coldly said as he finally turned his head ninety degrees. The stare he reserved just for Shepard hours earlier was now placed on her, and Miranda quietly thought to herself how truly menacing he could become to even his friends and allies, "this is a simple fact. You knew Tali was directly behind Shepard when it came to Xen's line of fire."

"Well, don't beat around the bush then, say what you want." Miranda knew where this was heading.

Garrus continued as he took a step towards the human female, "Shepard takes fire, literally, on an almost daily basis. And you're there to help put him back together. Tali is one of the weakest members of our squad when it comes to ground fire and in case you haven't noticed," he pointed at the infirmary, "quarians don't do well to outside environments," and then pointed to his head, "on top of getting shot in the head!"

Miranda was disgusted at what Garrus had said, unable to hide it in her face. "So you're telling me to let someone shoot John?"

"You could always get in contact with Hope Lilium and clone another body, all the while feigning ignorance about the whole thing."

"Garrus!" Liara held a hand to her mouth as she showed her complete shock at how vindictive he had gone. Not since his revenge against Sidonis had she ever seen him this far down the rabbit hole, yet even then he was still able to maintain a visage of composure.

"For your sake, Garrus, I suggest you kindly shut up and go back to staring through the window."

"And for _your_ sake you should hope I keep my recent conversation with Dr. Michel to myself."

Instantly Miranda got quiet and immediately stopped any confrontation with Garrus, looking away as her thoughts quickly processed the threat. What surprised the others was how different this particular piece of information made Miranda react and not lash out like she usually would if, say, Oriana was involved.

"Guys..." Kasumi said quietly, hoping to get the attention of Miranda and Garrus as she motioned with her hands from the refrigerator to someone coming around the corner.

"No need for you to get involved, Kasumi, you'll just break your other foot."

"That's it," Liara couldn't stand how her longtime friend had been lashing out in the past few minutes, "Garrus, please, go rest, we can talk about everything when Tali's ok."

The asari tried to gently place a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she stepped forward, her face all but pleading to stop this action behind her large eyes, but Garrus slapped the hand away with the back of his wrist as he turned his acidic gaze on her.

"And when Miranda can't protect 'John' in time, I'm sure you'll be there to make sure he's _just_ fine."

The hand that was removed returned to Garrus again, only this time it slapped the turian across his scarred face, causing the visor that Garrus always wore to disappear in a pixelated haze before again covering his eyes.

Before Garrus could respond a human hand grabbed the turian by the back of his armor's collar, pulling him away from the two women up towards the main battery that had remained Garrus' base of operations.

It was Shepard, dressed in his standard alliance under armor fatigues. He had heard the last few moments of Garrus' outburst and was doing what he thought was the right to alleviate the situation. The first thing: distance.

Still stunned by the slap and surprised that the human was able to get a jump on him, Garrus simply allowed himself to follow his captain up the steps. Moments later he returned to the anger that was on full display.

Clutching one of the rails the turian halted his backwards travel, then shoved his right elbow into Shepard's side. In a fist fight between human and turian, reach always went to the turian. Using the genetics of his species to his advantage Garrus grabbed Shepard's arm and tossed him over his shoulder in one fluid motion.

As the Spectre flipped over his friend he brought his right foot up as quickly as he could, once his inertia had subsided into the floor. Bringing the foot up so quickly allowed his boot to firmly find its way into his friend's right cheek.

Instinctively Garrus let go of Shepard's right arm and backed up as he brushed his face with his hand to check if his exoskeleton was cracked. In this time Shepard rolled off his back and pushed himself up as he gathered momentum to spearhead the turian into the ground, right before the battery doors.

This was textbook N-School training when fighting turians, derived from the First Contact War; to minimize the alien's advantage in reach, get in close and use compact swings that still protected your body. If possible, grab the top horns and pull forward to crack the carapace. Hands and head were the easiest targets on the body of the species.

The others who had watched the rather quick falling out between allies had remained a distance away, not wanting to get in between the two. They could, however, hear the voices of the two mutter insults as they continued to throw punches into the other.

"Paragon of bullshit."

"Always-armored asshole."

Kasumi had called out on her comm to Williams and Vega, hoping to use them to separate the two without anyone else getting injured.

Copeland had witnessed the whole situation since the beginning, and made an effort to move in his Captain's direction but was stopped by Miranda's arm.

"Let it be," was all she said.

"Ma'am?" he replied, confused as they heard Shepard's fist slam into the floor grating as he found himself being pushed off Garrus thanks to the turian's long legs.

"When's the last time you ever saw the two have a falling out, much less any kind of real argument?"

Miranda asked the question to the ensign but her actual target of the words was Liara, for she was one of the few who had been around the two longer than Miranda had in the past four years.

Liara simply pursed her lips together as she conceded the truth: never. Shepard had allowed Garrus to get his revenge on Sidonis without putting up a fight, and the turian responded by putting up no objection to Shepard's romantic interaction with the then right-hand operative of the Illusive Man, keeping whatever reservations he had to himself.

After that the two never really had anything else get between them while the reaper war focused their efforts completely on saving the galaxy. Their sparring matches with Vega and Javik were just that, and throughout the years together their marksmanship games never carried any ill will, the only victims were those who had to hear their terrible one-liners of bravado

The two soldiers regained their footing as Garrus threw two quick jabs that Shepard accepted into his face as he backed up to remove his body from striking distance.

Garrus used this opportunity to lunge with a haymaker but struck nothing as Shepard tucked and rolled in the small space not occupied by the lanky alien on the walkway, punching the back of his knee to cause the turian to drop down, again taking the collar of his ever present armor and slamming his head into the floor while grabbing the horns and pushing them forward.

It was here that their fight ended, as Vega and Williams ran past everyone to separate the two from doing any further damage to one another. "What the hell's gotten into you two?" Ashley asked in befuddlement as she pulled Shepard away from Garrus.

Her Captain offered no resistance to being removed from the scuffle, his hands up as he was pulled away and feeling he made his point clear.

Vega lifted Garrus up without any resistance or outward hostility towards the bulky marine who made sure to place his body between the two as he spread his arms out to increase their distance from one another as they went to their respective corners.

Thankfully by the time this skirmish ended Garrus was closer to the battery than Shepard was, avoiding the awkward shifting between the two that could have sparked another confrontation.

"Scars, come on, go cool down while I get you some ice and a dextro bar, yeah?" James was often the one in the sqaud who took orders, but this time he gave them and Garrus complied. Perhaps all that time spent around Shepard really was paying off in this modified N-School.

"Back to work, all of you," Shepard said as his eyes darted across the crew that gathered. A quick wipe of his face indicated a fresh cut just below his eye. Before he headed to the elevator he placed a hand on Liara's shoulder to reassure his friend, "He needed that slap, don't overthink this like you usually do." Liara smiled slightly at what she had just heard, "just let EDI contact me on any change in Tali's condition."

"Of course, John."

Shepard then left with Miranda to the elevator as they parted the crew while Ashley moved towards her asari friend to get an understanding of what had transpired.

* * *

Miranda gently wiped a small cut of blood below Shepard's left eye as the two sat on the cabin's couch. Despite her gentle touch with the cloth towel it's proximity to his eye caused Shepard to shut his eye, hiding the cut with his squinting.

"That asshole had no right to bring you two into this," Shepard muttered under his breath.

"Let it go, John, and don't flinch."

"You're taking his side?"

"Don't be absurd, I just know that protective feeling that comes with certain people," Miranda lightly rubbed his cheek as she wiped away more blood from the cut. Turning around to grab a small dab of medigel, Shepard quietly asked a question that confirmed he heard something Miranda wished he would never hear.

"What was Garrus talking abo-"

Shepard was interrupted as a synthetic female voice once again returned to echo in the speakers above, _"Shepard, Dr. Chakwas has informed me that the surgery on Tali was successful and her condition has stabilized."_

"Is she in serious condition, EDI?"

_"Correct, Miranda. It seems Tali's shields recharged just in time to absorb a fair amount of kinetic impact of the arc round. Minor burns from Haestrom's sun and Tali's exposure to the environment acerbated the moderate wounds received. The bleeding was more a result of her shattered helmet than the actual shot."_

"Is there anything Chakwas needs?"

_"Not at the present time, Captain. Outside of another of Tali's suits."_

Shifting up from the couch Shepard made his way to the elevator to procure the item from Tali's locker to personally deliver to Chakwas. As he made his way to the cabin door EDI chimed in once again after an almost deliberate pause, _"Garrus has already arrived at Tali's locker for the spare suit."_

That information caused Shepard to turn on his heel and head right back down the steps. "Thank you, EDI. It's good to have you back."

_"I am glad to be back, Captain. I apologize for my behavior on Haestrom, it was never my intention to side with the other programs. It was just...a necessity...at the time."_

"We can talk about it later, EDI, just let me know when we arrive at Omega. Get reacquainted with Joker."

_"Already underway, Captain. Enjoy your rest. And you too, Miranda."_ In all the turmoil of the day it was refreshing to return to some of EDI's more common traits, that among them her always increasing dialogue and frequent teasing nature.

"Get some rest, John, we'll be at Omega in four hours and you need to be prepared to talk with Aria."

"I'm fine, Miri, been through worse. You, however, rest. Taxing your biotics takes its toll, and I can keep out of trouble below."

Before Miranda could say anything else Shepard once again probed with his question before, "What did Garrus mean about Dr. Michel?"

Eyes that were often full of a cold, tempered sort of control were replaced with a feeling of fear. Not wanting to look her lover in the eye, Miranda turned her back to Shepard as she feigned cleaning up the table of her medical utensils.

"It's nothing, John, just an empty threat during the heat of the moment," Miranda said quietly as she got up to place the medkit back in the bathroom.

"If it's something-"

"John, please. I told you, it was nothing."

"Hey, come here," Shepard said in his normal reassuring tone as he reached to Miranda as she walked past him and up the stairs, his hands now grabbing her waist instead of her shoulders. Miranda shrugged off the comfort she often found in his arms as she continued towards the bathroom.

"Miri..."

"**I** screwed up, John!" Miranda slammed the medkit into the sink as finally turned around to look into his eyes with anger. Not at him, but herself. Had the day gone better without providing the ups and downs that exerted the operative both physically and mentally, Miranda would have easily held out more against Shepard's probing, perhaps be better able to dismiss the question altogether.

"I thought I could waltz right in to Huerta and help put you back together like I did before, but I froze up when I saw you lying there, beaten and bruised and..." it was then that Miranda's face went from anger to regret. "A minute into helping and it all fell apart."

Tears started to form in her eyes that made Shepard step up the stairs. He absolutely hated to see Miranda like this, the situation made worse because it never surfaced on the woman, but as she wiped away her eyes she used her other hand to stop the Spectre from coming any closer.

"I nearly killed you."

It wasn't that usual deep Australian accent that came from Miranda's lips but a distraught whisper that finally brought forth the blemished truth the beautiful woman had hoped to never reveal.

Shepard was shocked at the revelation. Any person would be when their significant other, the whole reason they clung so hard to life in the first place would admit to such a thing, but he knew there was something more to it.

Now more than before he wanted to eliminate the distance between them to show he didn't care, she could talk about it in the comfort of his arms, but Miranda held firm.

"You were being operated on and I thought I could help reduce the stress on your body with a biotic pulse, improve circulation since your implants were fried. But I watched as they stuck more tubes into you and cut away and I just...couldn't control my biotics. I was lost."

Miranda's eyes remained stuck to the floor until she waved her arm in front of her with a purple haze. "I had to be bloody sedated to stop! I became nothing more than a glorified assistant!" Miranda screamed as she finally looked Shepard in the eyes with tears.

"Doctorates from the finest universities in the galaxy and all I did was watch your vitals while everyone else put you back together, all because I cared too much!"

Shepard's sense of empathy resounded through the cabin without any trace of betrayal or anger. How could he feel such things at this time? It wasn't as though she had returned to the Citadel to finish him off. Miranda clearly felt that way though, and that was the reason this ate her up so much.

Sure, that was what Miranda was feeling she did at the moment, but it was something that the Spectre was desperately trying to remove from her mind. Once more he tried to step closer to her before whatever biotic power Miranda had left put him in a light stasis as she sat down at his terminal.

"Just, just leave me alone, John," she quietly said as she held her head in her hands as both elbows sat upon the terminal.

The stasis dropped as soon as his name left her lips. Shepard looked at the raven-haired woman perform the same gestures she did in her former office, looking to tune out the world as she tried to make sense of everything or simply tired from discussion. This time it wasn't a mission or reports but her own inadequacies that rarely, if ever, existed.

"I'm holding nothing against you, Miri, please realize that."

As no response came, Shepard turned to give Miranda her space, but not before trying to get through to her one more time. "Me and you, Lawson, through and through."

Shepard said those last words as they called back to a time that only the two remember, and despite her hands hiding most of her face he felt reassured that he saw her smile ever so slightly as she recalled the origin of that phrase.

With that Shepard left their cabin to give her the space she needed, knowing that much like his fight with Garrus earlier, this too would pass in time.

Hitting the elevator to the engineering deck, Shepard spoke to his recently returned AI. "EDI, sorry to make this your first conversation with Oriana, but could you please ask her to check in on her sister if Chakwas doesn't need her?"

_"Of course, Captain."_

Rolling his neck multiple times Shepard let loose a long sigh as the elevator door opened, stepping out as he gazed down at the shuttle bay below before talking to his engineers. _I miss the Blitz._

**Combat roll for the win, Garrus! And about that turian, it always seemed that if he wanted to use his skills for ill, he could really do some damage like we saw with his friends. We saw his wrecking crew style on Omega, but he's also as dangerous with his tongue, which was incredibly well executed in the story 'Watchdog.'**

**And no matter what, you really don't have a falling out between the two in the three games. If you choose to let the council die in the first game Garrus says something slightly threatening and that's about it.**


	27. Through and Through

27: Through and Through

It had been five hours since the Normandy had just succeeded in destroying the Collector Base and successfully retrieved all of her crew from beyond the Omega-4 Relay. In that time celebration was had by all, despite the hull having multiple breaches and resorting to its mass effect field to keep the ship pressurized. The shuttle bay had been deemed off limits with all crew relegating themselves to the mess hall for the time being, providing a greater ease to consume all the alcohol that was still on the ship.

Many were starting to feel the effects of their celebration by now, and coupled with the events of the past few hours nearly all were passed out. The ship had successfully docked at Omega to begin emergency repairs, but no one was up to the task to begin work. Considering what everyone just went through, Shepard felt it was only fair to give them time to recover from the "suicide mission." There was also Aria's respect that Shepard had managed to earn while procuring his crew that he would lean on to provide security to the frigate.

It probably confused many in the docks to see the damaged ship of the future arrive yet no one disembarked. Even Joker had succumbed to the alcohol and festivities, leaving EDI to preside over a ship filled with a drunk crew. It seemed the only two sober individuals on the frigate at the current time were Legion and Samara, the latter sleeping soundly to recover from going above and beyond in protecting the crew with her biotics.

Even Thane, usually calm and in control, felt the need to revel in the victory that no one expected to be performed this brilliantly.

Inside the Commander's cabin, there was nothing but laughter from two very inebriated humans who were very much enjoying the other's company. Clothes and armor thrown about the room, three empty bottles of champagne finding their home among the metal grating, Shepard propped his head up with his arm as he watched Miranda's naked body slip free from the bed sheets, her perfect body showing bruises and already healing cuts that were sustained during their fight aboard the Collector base. He hadn't faired any better, his left wrist bandaged and burns from Collector particle beams marking his back as he made his long leap into the Normandy's airlock.

"I don't think you're capable of having one more glass, let alone a bottle, Miranda," Shepard joked as he saw her trying her best to maintain balance and to walk towards the chilled bottle that sat atop his sofa table.

"And what makes you think that, _Commander_?" Inebriated or not, she still knew how to purr out his title.

Using his free hand he stuck out his thumb. "Ahem. One, you would normally bring the bottle over with your biotics, but you're so drunk you probably can't even focus." His index finger rose. "Two, you've been walking on the balls of your feet like you still think you're in your catsuit." His middle finger rose along with a growing rumble of laughter. "Three, as you've been listening to me talk, the champagne's been pouring out onto the floor."

"Oh, damn it!" Miranda yelled at first in anger, but then couldn't stop snorting in laughter after that. It was a laughter that Shepard had hardly heard from her, and despite his own drunken state it found it's way firmly into a memory he would treasure.

Laughing along with his XO, Shepard sat up to watch as Miranda tried to pull one of Shepard's discarded shirts with her biotics over to the spill in order to clean it up. She was having a very hard time in doing so, simply having the shirt move to another spot on the floor from its original spot.

"It's alright Miranda, let it go, it's not like it can drip down and short out the ship."

Her hip fully swayed to her right, Miranda looked at him with a coyish grin as she rocked her hips left and right with every word she spoke. "Maybe. It. Will. And. Maybe. It. Won't."

Her eyes stayed locked on him, daring the Spectre to make another move, biting her lip to show exactly what she yearned for as her hips swayed.

"That's it, you're definitely drunk," Shepard grinned as he got up to bring her back to bed, Miranda's playful shriek followed as she tried to run up the stairs to the Commander's terminal chair, but found herself wrapped up in Shepard's bandaged arms. He lifted her up with minimal effort as she playfully kicked the air, pretending to break the bonds of gravity with each cycle step.

Shepard took the champagne bottle from Miranda's grasp and took a sip himself before he dropped his back onto the mattress, the two laughing as they hit the sheets yet again.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Miranda said as she repeatedly kissed Shepard's lips with each sentence, her hands gripped on both sides of his face.

"You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome," Shepard replied with kisses of his own, "though I don't know what that's for."

"I was as good as dead when that reaper struck that platform, but you saved me. Anyone else would have let me fall to my death, glad to be rid of me or...or choosing to save themselves. I know _I_ would have done the same thing a few months ago without thinking twice. But you..."

Amidst the alcohol that clouded both of their minds, a brief moment of lucidity broke through as Miranda ran a finger down Shepard's chest, circling the bruises that had welted from the battle, "...you showed me how much you cared. It's something I won't forget, ever. It's what makes me lo...look forward to seeing more from you in the future."

The silence that followed was nothing compared to the heartfelt stare the two gave each other as they looked in the other's eyes. Somehow, this mission, this confluence of events ever since Shepard died above Alchera, brought these two composed souls together. Despite the hardships and near death experiences they faced over the past few months, at this specific moment in time both humans felt they would do it all over again if it meant they would arrive at this point.

"Hey," Shepard whispered quietly into her ear as he pulled his face closer to hers.

"Hmmm?"

"This isn't some one and done thing, I want to see where this takes us."

Miranda moved from atop Shepard to his left side, not hiding her skin beneath the covers as she propped herself on her elbow, Shepard mirroring her posture with his own body. "And Williams?" she said with a slight hint of warning in her voice.

"That's done, you saw it yourself. And it's for the best."

"I couldn't agree more," A purple haze surrounded Miranda's index finger as she pressed against his bruises. Shepard was expecting a painful warning but instead found a soothing massage with each move of her finger, "because **I** won't share."

Rubbing Miranda's cheek as gently as he could with his calloused hand, Shepard gave her a smile that reassured her that this was something that wasn't just a one-time thing. She returned the smile, but as the lucidity passed it brought with it a small hiccup from Miranda's lips, completely changing the mood of the cabin as it surprised even the skilled operative.

"You really-"

"I'm so bloody rotten." Miranda snorted in laughter once again as she took the bottle from Shepard's other hand and took another sip.

"Have you ever had a hangover?" Shepard said through a smile as Miranda's hand pushed his back onto the bed.

"Nope, and it's all your fault, you selfless ass." Another swig was taken as she passed the bottle back to her commander to finish it off.

Shepard let loose a light sigh as he drank the final drops of champagne and rested the bottle on the bed. "We're a ship full of drunks docked in the most dangerous location in the galaxy, having just burned bridges with our employer. On top of that, we've got next to no money."

"Oh, such a Spectre of little faith," Miranda replied as she pulled her omnitool up for perusal. Gently pushing into him so his back rested back on the sheets she placed her arm on his chest, showing a screen with a balance that contained a large sum of money into the tens of millions of credits.

"Our total credit balance, as routed through a variety of human, volus and salarian accounts from around the galaxy. Something I rerouted as you 'resigned' from Cerberus."

"That is a _lot_ of money, Miri." It was the first time Shepard had called Miranda by this name of affection, and the look she gave as the name left his tongue made him wonder if he had gone too far, perhaps bringing back a painful memory of Niket's betrayal on Illium.

A smile painted her face as she wiped a small drop of champagne from his stubble before he attempted to explain himself, "It's fine, John."

"You can give me a name, it's only fair."

"You're stuck with 'ass.' "

"Hurtful. Very, very hurtful."

"That name for _all this money_," she teased, her voice going higher and into a whisper while in her inebriated state that emphasized just how much money it was.

"Fine, you've broken my will," Shepard replied as he rubbed her hand gently.

"I always do," she joked before she kissed his lips.

"First thing we do tomorrow, use that money to pay for repairs, the best we can get. Then we make sure the others are taken care of; anyone who wants off the ship can leave, no questions asked, not after what we just went through."

"I do love this side from you, so _decisive_," Miranda said as her eyes narrowed in delight like a cat finding her prey, removing her hand from his chest and placing her chin there instead, looking up as she watched him speak. "It wouldn't be right to leave them on Omega though. It's not as bad as the Collector Base but still..."

"Great point, which is why we'll head to Illium as soon as the repairs are completed. Time to give that information about the Shadow Broker to Liara. But you already knew about that," Shepard said as he narrowed his eyes in a mock look of scorn that his private messages were being read by the woman who currently shared his bed.

"Pity, I thought we courageous souls would get more rest."

"Courage so true within the noble soul, the bravery instilled propels a man through and through, beyond the bright that would keep him from his goal..."

Miranda's eyes widened as he quoted the mid 21st century speech that originated from billionaire Victor Manswell before embarking on the ill-fated Manswell Expedition of 2075, but as Shepard finished the passage she tried to fight back a laugh in her throat at some clear error within his words.

"It's beyond the _blight_, you poor, poor, man," she chided with a tickle, while her affection remained on her face. "And I'm the one who's supposedly drunk here."

"I always thought it was bright, because all of the stars..." At this point who knew if Shepard was being honest or just failing at excusing the slip of his intoxicated tongue.

"And yet the original speech makes so much sense given your history, John. And what we just went through."

Intertwining his hand with hers, he made sure she knew he regained his composure as he continued, "Of course there will be rest, everyone deserves it. Plus, the hangovers tomorrow will be skull-splitting as it is."

Mischief washed over the now ex-Cerberus operative's face as she climbed on top of Shepard, intertwining her other hand with his as the two locked lips, feeling they had both recovered from their most recent embrace.

"Now let's make sure we're good and tired so that we can sleep through our hangovers, hmmm?"

"That is an excellent suggestion, Miss Lawson, but I hope to see this side of you again in the future."

"Not going to happen, ass," Miranda purred in his ear as the tussling of sheets caused the empty bottle to fall to the floor.

* * *

_"Captain, we're about to enter the Omega System." _

EDI's voice awoke Shepard from his quick nap down in Jack's hidewaway. Two hours was all he needed, unable to find anything else to occupy his time. He had planned on checking on Tali but Garrus was there, and he wanted to put more time between their last meeting.

Stretching and walking up to the elevator while doing his best to not look like he was sleeping somewhere other than his cabin, Shepard walked upon Javik and Zaeed waiting for the elevator as well.

"Captain," the prothean nodded as his eyes took the human's form. By now he had to have heard about the fight, and was simply seeing what damage still showed on the Spectre's face after the slight skirmish.

"You do that horn thing to make 'em say uncle?" Zaeed asked, a slight grin forming on his face. If it was one thing the man enjoyed, it was fight stories. Shepard didn't respond with a verbal confirmation, just a slight dip of the head with a look that confirmed the affirmative of the mercenary's question. Oh how the man loved to injure alien species.

Changing the subject, Shepard turned the attention to the prothean. "Your first visit to Omega, Javik. Excited?"

"I still do not understand why we were not allowed to join you in taking back the station during the war, Captain."

"Wait, you're telling me you went solo into bloody Omega? Under Cerberus control? With those damn adjutants everywhere?" Each time Zaeed pondered another question his eye got bigger bigger, finding it hard to believe he would agree to such a request from anyone.

"Didn't you learn anything from Aratoht, Shepard?"

"Aria was averse to anyone else in the crew potentially causing trouble or double-crossing her."

"And yet the cruiser you were aboard was destroyed minutes into the assault. It gave Liara many hours of worry," Javik said to point at the ridiculous nature of the renegade asari's request.

Shaking his head as the trio stepped into the elevator, Zaeed replied with a scoff, "Lookit all the shit happening to you when I'm not around, eh?"

"Funny, Zaeed."

The mercenary and prothean waited for their Captain to press his designated floor before they chose the shuttle bay. It wasn't much and something others might not notice, but it was a sign of respect from the two most combative members of the squad. Save the galaxy, get dibs on the elevator. This was unassailable logic.

"I'm being serious, Shepard. Omega's for the lowlifes like me, you should have called us up to help you out. I'm sure all the alliance blokes you had aboard knew next to nothing about the damn station."

"We'll be sure to make up for any lost time should some people try anything."

"I'm gonna need to cash in some of my fee, too. The bars are callin', Shepard. And the women." The mercenary had a reminiscent look upon his face as the elevator arrived at the CIC.

"Trust me, things are getting squared away in the next few hours. Just be sure to show Javik how we've treated the prothean's old mining station."

Javik nodded at the callback to galactic history, "I have never been to Omega, but I am told it is a place where someone like myself can gather quite a reputation. Or consolidate power..."

"Look, mate, you have someone like Garrus gaining notoriety there, you could give even Aria a run for her money," Zaeed said as he put his arm around the last of the ancient species with a shake of support.

"And the hanar do seem too weak for any real satisfaction of conquering, god or not..." The prothean smiled as his teeth showed, Shepard's attempt to decipher the smile as being nothing but a dream, or being an actual course for the prothean's future as the elevator door shut.

_I'm more concerned Aria and Javik might hit it off and become partners in crime._

**Quick flashback just to clear the way for the Omega story.**


	28. Alpha and

28: Alpha and...

The streets of Omega hadn't changed since Shepard last saw them months before. The dim red lights bouncing off worn and faded hallways still remained, and the streets still contained multiple destitute and downtrodden, but if he could wager a guess it seemed the formerly overpowering stench of refuse and despair was upgraded to simply "unpleasant."

Shepard, Zaeed, and Liara made their way from their common dock to Afterlife, still Aria's epicenter for controlling the station. The Captain has allowed the other members of his crew to leave the Normandy as long as they maintained trackers and travelled in groups of no less than three.

Judging by the respect the three were receiving right now, no one was attempting to interfere with anyone remotely associated with Shepard. The common catcalls and threats made by even the strongest of local gangs were replaced with nods of respect when the human looked their way. Zaeed enjoyed this as he puffed away on a cigar, deluding himself into believing his own reputation was a significant factor for the greater ease through the station.

"My time on Omega has been limited, I admit, but it does seem to be much more...controlled than it has been before," Liara said as her eyes looked left and right, "I do hope Aria can keep this in control."

"The citizens saw how Cerberus treated the various species here, and also the brutality of the adjutants. It looks like they realized it benefits no one to keep the city as ruthless and cutthroat as it was before. For now at least."

Zaeed tossed his cigar off the railing as the trio arrived to Afterlife's entrance. "I can understand the aliens stickin' together, but what about us human blokes? I'd think they'd have a hard on for keeping us off the station."

"Plenty of humans helped out against Cerberus, Massani. Pirate comm-channel communications during the occupation let us know what they tried to do on Eden Prime. Horizon just cemented the bastards 'reputation."

The turian voice caused the group to look to the left, seeing an old face familiar to Shepard and Zaeed. "Preitor Gavorn," Shepard asked with a slight smile as he shook the alien's hand, his other still firmly gripped on his Viper rifle.

"Don't tell me you're still killin' off those damn Vorcha for Aria?" Zaeed said, partially glad to see the former merc, the other half feeling slightly competitive that he hadn't even been contacted.

"No way, Aria did what she could to make sure all available vorcha were sent to the front lines. Two birds, one stone, that old human saying."

"Nah, we changed it to be two turians with one stone, eh Shepard?" Zaeed joked as he elbowed his Captain with no response. Liara simply rubbed her forehead at the unnecessarily antagonistic nature of the reply.

"Massani, just be thankful you've still got a shot in your old age, and a damn Spectre I don't want to get your brains all over."

Continuing on, Gavorn looked to the Spectre as he held a hand out to direct them into Afterlife, "Aria's waiting for you, usual spot."

The three made their way into Afterlife as the neon lit backdrop continued to pour out the music, with soldiers and civilians of all ages and races continuing the victory celebration that had occurred almost a month ago. Along with the usual mix of asari dancers there were also human and turian females garnering the attention of their male counterparts, all lost in a drug and alcohol induced ecstasy.

Walking up to Aria's couch, her trusted bodyguard Bray stood watch as he stopped Shepard. "Captain Shepard, glad to see you again." The batarian was one of the more cordial of his species that the Spectre had encountered during his time in the galaxy, and was glad to see the soldier remained alive.

"Same to you, Bray."

"Just give Aria a second, she's cleaning up some problems a troublemaker was responsible for a building fire down in the Gozu district. Shouldn't be that long."

The loud gunshot from a Talon pistol was heard as if on cue, no one flinching at all as they heard the loud sound over the thumping bass and electronic music that continued to echo all around. The batarian nodded his head with the music beats as he counted the seconds until he finally waved the group through. "There we go, sorry about the wait."

"Some things don't change, do they?" Shepard rhetorically said as Bray feigned ignorance to the question.

As the three walked up the steps they saw a turian duo carrying away the body of a dead

human in a faded and worn blue armor, half his face missing as they went down the other set of stairs.

Arriving at the top the two batarian guards put up no resistance compared to the first few meetings Shepard had with the leader of Omega. Sitting in her usual spot, only with multiple datapads was Aria, casually replacing her thermal clip as her eyes met Shepard's.

"_Captain_ Shepard, welcome back to Omega."

Compared to their meetings before, Aria lifted herself from her seat to meet the human as he stood. Expecting just a handshake, Shepard was surprised with her warm embrace. While he wasn't expecting such a reaction, he definitely wasn't expecting the asari to whisper a pout into his ear, audible only to him amongst the loud music.

"A pity you've decided to stay with that Cerberus operative, nothing is more attractive than someone who exerts their will across an entire galaxy. To get inside your mind..."

Before Shepard could give a reaction to Aria's words she broke off the hug, offering the three a chance to sit down. "Now then, Captain, tell me why you've decided to check in on my own symbol of galactic unity."

* * *

"This place is simply disgusting, 'Randa."

Oriana was travelling through the Omega markets with her sister, James, Samara and Garrus in tow, taking the opportunity to take in just how different Omega was compared to the Citadel. It was the younger Lawson's first time on the station, and what she originally thought would be a station full of noble and hardworking denizens who escaped their respective species' class systems turned out to be simply an idyllic dream in the young woman's head..

As the group walked past a market selling used armor and engineering omni-tools it was the sight of an old human sticking to the nearby rails, emptying the contents of his stomach that caused Oriana to gag for the first time on the station. The neon backdrop seemed to only keep her hunched over as the chunks that came from the man's stomach were in greater contrast as they dropped over the railing.

"Oh gosh, really?" Oriana's gagging caused her to scratch around the collar of Miranda's light combat armor in an attempt to somehow increase her ability to intake oxygen.

Miranda carried the black suit with a certain aura of invincibility, while Oriana seemed to hunch over almost against her will at the compressed fit it provided, despite their identical genetics. "How can you wear this suit, it's too bloody tight and feels constrictive!"

"You can always go back to the Normandy if you feel uncomfortable, Ori."

"And just be thankful you aren't wearing your sister's catsuit, Twins," James joked, immediately looking away to avoid his XO's cold stare as though something important had caught his eye in the distance.

"You sister is correct in making you wear the armor, dear. Omega is not a place for the untrained and uninitiated," Samara said with a soft, motherly smile. "On my first visit to this station centuries ago I found myself being threatened by a local batarian gang. The only thing that kept me safe was my armor and my biotics. You, my sweet, have nothing but your optimism."

Sighing in frustration Oriana mumbled a quiet reply "I'm a good shot if I could carry a bloody pistol, but noooo..."

"Hey Twins, chill out, let me buy you something from the local human vendor. Despite the surroundings it's actually got, or should, have some decent grub." James and Samara escorted the young human towards the nearby restaurant opposite of the railing, watching as humans and asari both came to and from the mass of people waiting in line.

Before Miranda could follow she found Garrus standing in her way, the blue armor obstructing her view. With Tali sedated and showing no sign of returning to consciousness for the next few hours, the turian had volunteered to escort Oriana around while Shepard spoke to Aria. Chakwas had also politely insisted that he do the same.

Miranda wanted to say no, simply to spite the alien from getting his wish, but realized he might be looking to offer an apology to his outburst hours earlier. And she was now correct.

"Law-Miranda, I just want to apologize for what I said." Garrus' normally calm tone carried a certain flustered pitch to his flanging voice. Despite his nervous nature his apology seemed genuine, causing Miranda to drop her crossed arms in response.

"I hope Shepard taught you a thing or two about how to apologize." Miranda made sure to call her boyfriend by his last name in a slight twist of the knife to Garrus' mockery of her using his first name since she returned to his side.

The turian held up a hand. "Look, I'm working my way up the apology ladder, give me a break here. I let my emotions get the best of me, Tali's the first person outside of my family that I've ever felt that bond to."

"Not Shepard?" She jokingly asked.

"Shepard _is_ family." For as heated as their confrontation was earlier Garrus was incredibly quick to point out the brotherly connection he and the human had. Brothers in war, brothers in peace.

Garrus continued, "You should know what I'm saying though. That feeling you have when you're with Shepard, well, I'm pretty sure that's what I feel with our little suit rat."

"I certainly do," Miranda said as she looked away briefly, slightly grasping at her collar at the admission of such a feeling inside of her. It was something she needed to get used to, confirming people's recognition of her feelings to John. In many ways it frustrated her, she hated repetition.

The turian placed a hand on her shoulder to once again offer an apology. "But I mean this sincerely, it wasn't my place to bring up what Dr. Michel said about saving Shepard."

Miranda's eyes showed a hint of anger at the mention of the frenchwoman's name, but a tempered claw was raised between the two.

"It's not her fault, I got the information out of her unexpectedly while talking about Shepard's recovery. Obviously she doesn't know how...protective you are about yourself."

"I guess I can't be completely mad at the woman, she did a fine job saving John's life. Only Chakwas could have put my mind at greater ease." Miranda let loose a long sigh as she watched Oriana eating her food while looking at the hovercars flying by, James doing his best to keep the more unruly characters at bay with his stare.

Her head was still facing away as her eyes slid back to look at Garrus. "Have you spoken to John yet?"

"No, I'll extend the olive branch when we get back to the ship. He's got other things on his mind."

"He won't be as forgiving as I am, and we'll just forget all about your insinuations that I let Tali get shot on purpose." Her head rotated back to face the turian as her eyes got as cold as they were when he first arrived on the Normandy two years ago, "The standard xenophobic stigma is just so outdated after all this time, Garrus. If you're going to attack my character, at least do so with something more original."

"Yes, well, um..." Garrus was forced to look away as he didn't anticipate _that_ stare making it's appearance yet again. It was one of the things he thought Shepard had been able to remove from the woman's repertoire. He was able to get through her defenses once, but it seemed she was making sure he wouldn't be able to do so again.

Glancing over to Oriana as he saw the three talking about the various locations on the station, with Samara pointing out certain areas of interest, Garrus attempted to change the subject. A quick nod of the head was followed by his comment, "Seems like she's acclimating rather well to your lifestyle, taste in clothing aside."

"She better get used to it for the time being. I thought eliminating my father from the picture would give her protection, but she's just another string connected to John. Until we know exactly who Xen was talking about, or if she was simply bluffing, I can't put her back out there like before."

"Even when it's against her wishes?"

"_Especially_ against her wishes, she's too young to know what she wants." Miranda brushed back her hair with her hand as she saw the three leaving the food stand with additional items in tow, the younger Lawson already diving into a second helping of the greasy processed food with great aplomb.

"You do realize you sound like how you spoke of your father."

"I beg your pardon?" Miranda's face showed renewed hostility. Garrus simply let her think on that for a second, not even having to respond to her outrage as she realized her own actions. This was different than her own youth, and the turian knew it, he just wanted to make sure she was aware of the parallels.

"There is always Grissom. I don't know yet if Oriana enjoys the frigate life..." Garrus chimed in with a genuine thought of interest.

Miranda remained silent for a moment as she processed the information. The thought had crossed her mind earlier, and with Jacob and Jack, along with Kahlee Sanders, that was a solid, dependable group of people she would trust Oriana's life to. Yes, even Jack.

"It's the only other viable option. But as for now, I think we have bigger things to worry about."

The two ended their conversation as the others arrived back to them as they continued on down the markets, looking to procure what they could before heading back to the ship.

* * *

"I do have to say, Shepard, even for you this is a tricky line you're walking."

"I think trying to tell Admiral Hackett why risking my life and the Crucible project to help you liberate Omega was just as tricky. If you think about it, the reapers destroying this station would have saved people a lot of trouble in the future."

Aria rolled her eyes as Shepard attempted to play the bad guy in their meeting. She knew full well what the man was capable of, having fought beside him, but there were some things the human was just bad at bluffing his way through, especially against a female who dabbled daily in intimidation.

"You of all people have earned my respect, take all the time you need here. What information we have on quarian ships currently docked will be available to you without a problem," A snap of Aria's fingers brought up Shepard's omnitool notification as various channels were opened for the Spectre's perusal.

"No catch this time?"

"Shepard, if any location is going to thrive in the current years, it's Omega. All those salvaged eezo cores, cannons, fleets of soldiers and refugees looking for a fresh start after the war, more than fifty percent will be run through this lovely station." Aria spoke of the new economic boom as though she was a beaming parent.

"With salvage also comes the greater risk for piracy: new gangs, greater competition to control this station..." Liara quietly said, her often doe-like eyes showing a glimmer of her cold Shadow Broker presence.

Aria at first gave the fellow asari a deep, dark stare, but quickly raised what little eyebrow her species had. "I suppose Shadow Brokers could also pose a problem." The rogue leaned back as she finished her drink, shaking the glass so that the ice signaled a refill to one of her guards.

With no one else outside of the four around, she added more commentary, "Don't even try and intimidate me with your network, T'Soni. Even your father couldn't take me down, so don't even try."

"Oh this should be good," Zaeed laughed as he continued to smoke away.

Shepard held up a hand, "We're not looking to get in your way, Aria. I know Nyreen would want to see all the good she did come to fruition."

"Guilt trips are much more effective than threats," Aria shook her head as a new drink found its way into her hands. "Omega may still hold the scum of the galaxy and look like shit, but we look out for our own."

In the middle of the lounge appeared a hologram of Omega. A wave of the hand zoomed out showing the Sabarahk system. "This system is being patrolled by what's left of my coalition, both Talons and mercs. All trade and refugees welcomed, any ships looking for a quick raid will find themselves dead rather quickly. I like to believe that you need to set foot on Omega first before you die. That's what our alleys and bars are for."

"How considerate."

A pinch of her finger and thumb directed the map to zoom in on Imorkan. "This blue beauty is what keeps it all going. Plenty of fuel to extract, I've even made rather gracious offers and bought out the former owners of the layover stations to make them safe places for temporary refuge and trade."

Shepard's mind lingered on two words as he raised a smirk, gently rubbing his stubble chin as he spoke, "bought out, of course."

"Whatever it takes. I even followed your advice from before and offered them a chance to surrender or work for me. Unlike Petrovsky, they refused."

A flick of the index finger moved the map to the Mass Relay. "I've got a constant presence around the relay, any quarian ships arrive, you'll be the second person to know behind me, Shepard."

Before the human could say anything else, she continued her point, "But, if they come after you I can't stop them, I can't put Omega's future in jeopardy for one man."

"Fair enough, a warning is all we need. I think we're even in favors now, Aria."

"Good then, I'm glad this is all settled." Aria watched as the three stood up to make their way back to the streets. "Massani, enjoy this scotch."

A purple hue covered Aria's hand as she sent the bottle over into the mercenary's grasp. He looked at the label and raised his good eye at what he saw.

"Bekenstein, eh? Didn't know those assholes had anything other than marble bidets before the reapers took 'em out."

"Apparently it was made on some billionaire's land as a hobby, crafted to perfection. Its taste and price meant nothing to the security detail that betrayed him on his way to this station two months back. I figured you humans would enjoy it more, you don't have time to develop fine tuned palettes."

Letting that insult go, Shepard and Zaeed watched as she shooed them away with Liara. "Now go spend whatever cash you have, make some friends on the dance floor, or keep in mind my suggestion, Shepard." A devilish grin crossed her face as her eyes watched the Spectre head down the stairs.

As she saw the three leave downstairs, and exiting the club through the crowd of people dancing their troubles away, her face got cold and detached. Closing her eyes for a few moments, she breathed in as she finally nodded, her eyes opening and seeing Bray pull up his omnitool. Aria did the same.

"He's here. Tracker should be online. I don't want you taking out civilians to get to him."

_"I don't think you're in any position to render judgment on how we go about killing the brave Captain Shepard. I'll do my best to honor your wishes though, the gentleman that I am."_

Disgust mixed with resignation covered Aria's face as she heard the response from the high, raspy human voice on the other end. "Massani's with him too, for what it's worth. Now give me the location of those bombs, you son of a bitch."

_"__**Two**__ of my favorite people in the galaxy? It's a shame I had to threaten the destruction of a whole ward to finally make you cave, Aria."_

"Fuck off."

_"Now now, I trust you didn't warn him of his impending death? It would be a rather tragic end to our agreement."_

"The man doesn't know a thing. Still doesn't mean you'll be able to get rid of him."

_"It's just business, my dear. You wouldn't believe the money I'm being paid for this, it's just a good thing I was on the station when the contract came through. I was able to do all this in six hours, I thought you'd be impressed at my initiative!"_

Aria responded to the boast with silence. Outside of the somewhat audible sound of her teeth gritting against themselves.

_"And I must say, I thought I'd still have some goodwill letting you take my Citadel division to hand over to the alliance during the war. It was my decision to keep that weak legged Vosque in charge for you to so easily control."_

"If I ever find you, Vido, you're a dead man."

A heavy chuckle emerged from the devices, _"It's funny how everyone always says that, yet here I am. Here are the locations and the deactivation codes, beautiful. Try not to be so soft in the future, I miss your old cutthroat ways. If everyone knew it only took a destroyed housing tower to get you to capitulate, you'd be nothing more than just another pair of asari tits."_

The channels closed, and Aria looked to Bray as she saw the batarian confirm the receipt of the codes. "I'm sending Gavorn and his squad to disarm the bombs now."

"Good."

Aria exhaled deeply, keeping her anger and guilt in check as the constant electronic drumming beat away like a Harrier in full fire. Hearing that noise caused the asari to smile, her eyes still closed as she leaned back in her seat, confident of the outcome between the two humans. "Another refill, Bray."

**I'll have a Javik/Aria scene in the future, maybe he'll remove all of Nyreen's nice influence, I just wanted to set up the next "mission." Vido was just too good of a character to pass up on if you didn't kill him in ME2.**


	29. Blindsided

29: Blindsided

Miranda stood at the dais of the CIC, her eyes moving rapidly against the maps and camera feeds that EDI had brought up of Omega. To her right stood Specialist Traynor, her own eyes looking at half the screens that popped up, looking to find something, anything about what had happened in the last few minutes.

The genetically perfect woman had stood there just minutes ago, talking with her Captain, waiting for his squad to return to the ship and provide the necessary plans for the foreseeable future.

It all seemed so simple, which should have been her first guess that something was wrong, things are rarely normal in this line of work and particularly around Shepard.

A playful line of dialogue here, a coy response there, and then...nothing. John Shepard maintained his marine training consistently while in armor and would never attempt to tease his lover that way. It was her job in their relationship to do that. At first she allowed herself to think it was some feedback that came from a station of this size, random occurrences that all combined to make the feed break up. It was rare but did happen. When a standard check of the system didn't reestablish connection, followed by his suit's tracker disappearing from the display of personnel disembarked from the ship, something was wrong.

Slamming her fingers onto her omnitool with a greater ferocity than was the norm, she was multitasking and trying to open up the back-channel access to Shepard's omnitool. Nothing. That increased the odds this was professionally done, as a jammer that powerful to account for the various forms of communication would be high level tech, most notably asari or salarian in design. Millions of communications being done by the second, yet in the marketplace just meters from the Normandy it was a complete dead zone.

A part of her secretly admired what had just occurred. Whoever hacked into Omega's feeds was able to splice multiple loops previously in the day so as to make the constant stream of people look much more natural, finding the smallest gaps in the replays with which to switch over to another recording.

The other part of her was genuinely concerned that this was someone who would be able to provide a challenge for John. This person (or persons) had years of experience, the kind of attention to detail that reminded her of Thane. Or herself.

"Where is he, dammit?" She grumbled, eyes darting around as she simultaneously typed away, giving up on the omnitool angle and looking to get into her own back channels from her time on the station, seeing if any of her contacts survived the war and Cerberus' occupation. "And where are Zaeed and Liara?"

"EDI keeps trying to raise their signals, both via comm chatter and their armor's tracking system, but nothing is any different than it was minutes ago."

_We already know that, why are you repeating yourself?_ Miranda kept her opinion within her mind at what she considered unnecessary dialogue coming from the young specialist's lips.

As Traynor finished speaking the elevator opened, with Garrus, James and Javik stepping out, armored up and ready to exit the airlock, the human sprinting forward to take the lead.

"Good to go, XO. Just tell us what we need to do."

"Isn't it obvious? Find your bloody Captain!" Miranda's order was harsher than she had meant to convey, but she felt that entire question was a waste of time, time she spent looking away from the screens in front of her.

Joker's voice was heard both on the intercom as well as echoing down the hall at the helm of the ship, "XO, EDI's reading activity right outside the airlock. A tracker appears to have returned."

"Just one?"

"Yes ma-"

Joker's confirmation was interrupted as the airlock slid open, with Liara out of breath and her normally pristine white suit tattered and frayed. She had been struggling to take in air but her eyes said it all.

"Freckles, girl, what happened?" James holstered his shotgun as he went to place her arm around his shoulder to use him as support, noting the gash on the outside of her left leg. Taking her down to Chakwas at this moment would be unwise, so he effortlessly lifted her into one of the co-pilot chairs.

Miranda's face turned even paler than her normal complexion for just a brief second as she stepped down from the dais to meet the Shadow Broker on an even level.

"Blue Suns," Liara blurted out, coughing as she tried to breathe and speak at the same time, "they ambushed us, scrambled our comm units, and there was a firefight. He sent me to go get help..." her eyes locked fully on the woman who brought him back to life. Liara did her best to keep her face emotion-free but to all present they noticed the small moisture that began to show on the edges of her sparkling blue eyes.

* * *

**7 Minutes Earlier**

"EDI, have the others returned to the Normandy?" Shepard asked through his earpiece as he and his squad made their way back through the streets of Omega to their dock.

_"All crew are accounted for with the exception of you, Zaeed, and Liara,"_ the recently rescued AI responded, keeping the informal tones the squad has requested. _"Would you like me to patch you through to Miranda?"_

"Um..." The rather blunt nature of the question took him surprisingly off guard. "Please."

A moment of silence was on the other side of the channel until a soft spoken Australian accent hit the Captain's ear. _"John."_

"Miri."

He was surprised by how simple her greeting was, causing him to simply mirror it in kind in order to get the words our of his mouth. As her name left his lips he winced internally at how it made their conversation sound, since he could detect a little bit of regret and embarrassment in her voice. He hated this emotional standoff.

"We're on our way back, we've got the all clear from Aria for the time being, and some channels for EDI to monitor for any quarian activity."

A light chuckle came from her lips as she heard the information which brought a slight look of confusion on her Captain's face that she was unable to witness. _"John, EDI could access those channels with little effort."_

_"Miranda is correct, Shepard,"_ the Normandy AI chimed in, monitoring (or rather eavesdropping) the conversation.

Trying to save face at the simple realization, the Spectre quickly elaborated "It was a gesture of goodwill from Aria, and I didn't expect EDI to be completely up and running so I didn't want to bother her."

_"I was fully operational four hours ago, I believe you would remember this reconnection of Normandy capabilities from assaulting the Collector base."_

"...EDI?"

_"Yes, Shepard?"_

"Log out."

_"Logging out, Captain."_

The three made their way through the narrow hallway that led to the connecting marketplace for the Normandy's dock. Like an anthill various docks in this section of Omega led to an open area platform that doubled as a free-for-all with all the various buyers and sellers looking to gather first dibs on materials of merchant ships or getting the first credits from arriving shuttles filled with potential new customers.

Despite the small width of the hallway there were merchants and beggars occupying various sides of the hall, requiring traffic to shuffle to the left or right as they declined to purchase wares or donate spare credit chits. Liara took point while Zaeed, already enjoying the bottle of whiskey Aria provided, made sure no one snuck up on his Captain.

As Shepard nodded slightly to the few humans he saw passing him and recognized his face, he continued his conversation with Miranda. "Did Garrus apologize?"

_"Yes. It was heartfelt too, at least for Garrus, so go easy on him."_

"I won."

_"Of course you did."_

"I'm serious, three more punches connected plus **I** had no armor on."

_"Why are you keeping count? That wasn't part of your silly target games."_

"...It could be used as a tiebreaker someday."

A very audible scoff could be heard, along with the not yet visible accompanying eyeroll.

"Tali's still stable?"

_"She's doing just fine, Chakwas said she'll come out of it in a few hours and moved her to the AI core to continue to recover for another forty eight hours. Garrus even bought her some disk filled with old romantic films that she always fawns over to keep her company."_

It seemed Miranda was more than willing to open up now, and Shepard used the opportunity to his advantage.

"She made me watch Fleet & Flotilla once. Please don't tell me you suddenly developed a liking for it because I really can't sit through that film again."

_"Of course not. Outside of humanity only the asari know how to make decent films, everything else is hackneyed drivel with no production values. And don't you dare say Blasto!"_

"Did I tell you I met that hanar once?"

_"No. Why would you-"_

"Long story, involves Javik," he decided to take the conversation home as he shook the waiting hand of what appeared to be a turian veteran of the reaper war, the alien walking to him with a prosthetic metal leg, still trying to adjust to the replacement appendage. "I could tell it to you over dinner tonight, if I could get back access to my cabin..."

A silence he expected in their continuing dance of conversation and flirtation arrived over the channel.

_"...you ass."_

That was all the confirmation Shepard needed, smiling on his end and almost feeling Miranda's smile as well.

"We're almost back, even have some rare Bekenstein scotch if you're up for it."

_"Mmmmm," _the seductive musing hum was instantly capable of making him lose his thoughts,_ "sounds intriguing..."_

Silence fell over the comm again, only this lasted longer than he thought a pondering of enjoying new alcohol would provide.

"To sweeten the deal, a complimentary back rub too?"

Nothing.

_This is Omega, could be something messing with the signal here, an eezo spike below, or..._

As he waited for a response he quickly pulled Liara to the side to avoid two turians in black armor chasing a ragged clothed human, who in his hands carried a few pilfered devices, one of which fell just a few meters in front of the annoyed asari.

"Goddess, this is why I preferred Illium. There it was all contractual theft," she grumbled as she knelt down to pick up the fallen thermal coupling.

Shepard's mind was putting the event together, processing it and discovering his mind was blaring that internal warning that kept him alive all these years. He replayed the scene in his head again; as the human ran by something seemed off. A man running from two turians wouldn't have such a neutral look to his face, especially with his arms full of various electronics. He remembered his own experiences in the slums of Earth. _Your mind is usually focused on keeping the objects close to your body and escaping and looking like a scared rat. _

He then factored in the recent silence on the radio. Miranda would never break off like that. Her teases had always been much more...suggestive than a simple thought of the mind.

"Those turians looked like more than standard security cops, poor bastard's gonna lose his arms if I know how they operate."

Zaeed drank from the bottle once again, causing Shepard to look closer as the container left the mercenary's lips. He took the liquor from the older human's hand.

"Careful, wicked kick on the finish."

When Shepard didn't partake in the whiskey Zaeed watched his Captain tilt the half drunk bottle on it's side, not enough to spill the contents, but enough for the two to silently see the underside of the bottle.

Underneath the concave bottom sat a simple tracker, unable to be noticed from above thanks to the dark hue of the alcohol inside and refraction of the glass.

The two soldiers looked to each other, knowing what had just happened.

"It's-"

"A-"

"Trap." Liara said in a somewhat shocked and raised voice, looking at the inside of the coupling. "This has some sort of jammer inside."

The few civilians who were around were confused by the shouting. They saw thieves being chased all the time, but anything beyond the white noise of market chatter rarely drew their attention, even if it came from a companion of the exhaled Captain Shepard.

The two turians that had run past the squad were seen returning their way, the human they had chased was activating his omnitool to unleash a ball of fire towards the three, damn the people in the way.

Instinctively Liara dropped the device and threw up a barrier along the hall, watching as the searing ball of heat disappeared, the surrounding civilians now in a growing panic about the situation.

"Everyone get down!" Shepard shouted, many obliging the order in the immediate vicinity as he pulled out his Carnifex and fired two shots, Zaeed doing the same to cause the three enemies to hide behind makeshift stalls.

Accuracy wasn't important at this moment, it was a matter of keeping the enemy pinned down as they attempted to reach the Normandy or some area that wasn't as confining as the space they currently occupied.

"Move!" The Captain barked, his squad responded, pushing the few standing civilians to the side as they ran down the hallway. If the squad stayed put they risked putting the civilians in jeopardy.

Zaeed turned back and fired two more shots from his own pistol as Shepard ran at full speed, increasing the distance between his other companions, seeing up ahead reinforcements of the three enemies behind them. This double pair of humans and batarians offered a familiar sight on their blue armor: white circles and detail covering the shoulders and chest of the stark blue plating.

_Blue Suns? Aria should have them under her control!_

That was all the thought Shepard could put into what he saw at the moment, still not sure what he planned on doing with his increased momentum. At this point all he knew was that he was the sole focus of their fire and no one else. The two batarians carried with them their standard Vindicator rifles, firing a few rounds that bounced off his shields.

The screams and cries of the civilians were lost momentarily as a low pitched hum passed by Shepard's ear, the purple hue that the man saw out of his eye confirming the biotic singularity Liara had thrown ahead to be of assistance.

Its effect took hold as Shepard neared the enemies, dropping his shoulder as he disposed the lone floating human with a weighty tackle. The fight was now up close, and the rifles and shotguns the enemy had were a liability. While one of the soldiers was taken out of the fight thanks to the full weight and force of an N7 marine using physics to his advantage, the other three had been able to resist the biotic pull.

One batarian foolishly tried to end the fight by firing his Claymore at such a close range, the one-shot shotgun missing it's mark and finding only the hallway wall as its target.

After stunning the shotgun wielding enemy with a hard elbow to the face, Shepard's omniblade activated and stabbed the other batarian in the squad, pushing the critically injured alien off his blade and then kicking him into the wall that had just received the Claymore round.

As soon as the soldier was kicked into the wall, slumping to the ground in gasped breathing, Liara had continued to run past the fighting, knowing full well any attempt to fight in such a closed space would not benefit Shepard or herself. She was, however, able to contribute to the situation by firing her Predator a few times into that initially tackled mercenary, making sure he would not rejoin the fight.

The other human was caught between deciding whether to aim at the asari or the human to the side of him who had since engaged with his other batarian ally, the same fool who tried to fire the shogun seconds earlier, but his target would be neither.

"Fucking twat!" would be the last words that human heard as Zaeed had finally caught up, his own omniblade connecting with the Legionnaire's neck. Age kept the old mercenary from being unable to deliver the same hand speed as his Captain, but it was still more than enough to pierce their shields.

All that remained was the one soldier Shepard had engaged. Quick slams to the armored chest stunned the enemy as he was unable to consciously realize his need to drop his claymore, the weight being nothing but a burden as he was unable to swing the weapon even as a club.

A jab to the face, followed by a haymaker, and ultimately two more shots from Zaeed's pistol brought the alien down, never having a chance with how quickly the tide turned since the three recognized the trap.

Shepard and Zaeed knew they still had enemies following them, evident by the returning ball of flames that had sadly connected with an innocent bystander. His screams during his incineration brought with it more cries and panic from the nearby inhabitants of this ward.

The two returned to their run, ejecting clips and reloading along the way. Liara had arrived at the turn of the hallway, leading into the open marketplace just before the Normandy's docking bay.

The asari was greeted with irritated faces of arriving species and merchants begging her to come look at their wares. In the distance, however, she saw that beyond the people who pushed past her parked position were six more Blue Suns mercs. All turian but one, an older man with graying hair who looked directly at the young asari as he patted what would be his second-in-command on the shoulder.

Gunfire erupted, cutting down any who was in the way, followed by screams and then silence as the people fell to the ground. Creating another barrier and raising her pistol, Liara fired the rest of her clip at the enemies, following up with a biotic throw that was absorbed by a Legionnaire's omni-shield.

One thing that was sadly apparent following the Reaper War was that the open-door policy that all species had involving the distribution of weapon and technology. In a pure fight for the survival of the galaxy patents and schematics were as easily accessed as extranet searches for the latest hovercars or holovid.

Since the end of the war many races attempted to shut the door they had opened, but it was a moot point as the information took no break in finding it's way into the black market. Shields that were once used by the famed N7 marines in order to protect squadmates as they disabled indoctrination devices were now being used by common thugs with far less noble intentions.

Liara's aim wasn't the most accurate aboard the Normandy either, and the distance she currently had between the mercenaries showed that fact, only one of the soldiers taking a hit, their shields absorbing the Predator round with ease.

Returning the favor from before, Shepard fired his beloved Mattock as he stepped forward in front of Liara. The uncanny accuracy the man exhibited against the roadblock of enemies bought much needed time as he found new cover. He noticed the black haired man from their mission on Zorya, and hoped this time Zaeed would temper his emotions better.

The Captain's eyes looked down as he hid behind a fallen crate. Its owner must have been among the fallen that were at his feet, a sense of anger rising that these people who had survived extinction were taken down due to what would easily become one of many assassination attempts on his life.

"EDI?! Joker?! Miranda?!" Liara shouted, looking to regain contact with the ship as Shepard continued to fire rounds from behind cover, her other human ally letting loose a barrage of fire from his modified Revenant as he slowly walked into cover behind another fallen crate. Compared to his companions, he clearly enjoyed these types of confrontations.

"Got the fireball fucker but the other two are still making their way up here!"

Having reloaded another clip Shepard again took aim.

_Pak. Pak. Pak. Pak. _

The sounds of the semi-automatic weapon had become an almost comforting sound to Liara, knowing that only on the rare occasions did Shepard not find his mark when using the rifle. This sound was the only reassurance she had as she was unable to reconnect to anyone aboard the Normandy.

"Still jammed, John!"

"Nothing new!"

"Stop being so calm!" Liara said in an almost feigned sense of desperation as she fired her pistol once again.

From inside the marketplace a familiar voice for the two humans barked out to draw attention and ire from his old colleague, "Clock's ticking, Captain! You need someone with two eyes to actually kill me!"

"Vido! You motherfucking mutt!" Zaeed screamed as his mind immediately put together the originator of the voice. Any sense of cover was lost as the man rose to his feet, stepping forward and angrily screaming as his Revenant fired from the hip. Just like before the older mercenary had no control over his bloodlust when it came to getting revenge on the man who left him for dead.

This was precisely what Vido anticipated with his taunt, and a barrage of fire came their way, Zaeed taking a few rounds as he refused to find cover until Liara was forced to use her biotics to provide another barrier as the older human recognized a need to return to cover, but not before activating a medigel packet through his suit.

Before Shepard could say anything as he returned to cover he saw the two turians from the initial attack arriving at the bend in the hallway. Three more shots were fired as the Spectre's back slid down the crate in order to clear his legs out of the line of fire. One of the turians fell, talon still holding down the trigger as his Vindicator emptied it's clip in its common three round burst, causing his ally to stop his advance to avoid the fire.

"I've got nothing more to live for, Vido, and I will walk through this gunfire to rip your bloody eyes out!" Zaeed shouted as he injected another packet of medigel through his armor to allow him to attempt one more push.

"Zaeed, stay with me for just one more minute!" Shepard didn't know if the man would listen. At this point he didn't care. He reached in front of him and touched Liara on the shoulder to get her attention as she provided cover fire.

"Look down and to your left."

She did what she was told to do as she finished firing, and knew right away what was being proposed.

"I don't like vents, Shepard!"

"Use it to get back to the Normandy as fast as you can, we'll draw their fire for you."

"That's suicide!"

"We've survived it before."

"Come with me," She said in an almost quiet plea amidst the backdrop of gunfire.

"I don't think I could fit. Besides, we're all easy targets if we cram into the shaft."

"But-"

"Once you crawl in, keep going, don't stop for anything, no matter how it sounds," Shepard ignored his friend's objection as he plucked a grenade from his belt. "Liara, trust me, we'll meet up in a bit."

There was no sense arguing with him as he made up his mind. The plan made the most rudimentary of sense. Whatever jammers Vido was using wouldn't be able to interfere with EDI's outside cameras and sensors at the Normandy dock, meaning there was next to no chance any additional forces would be waiting for Liara once she passed this imposed bottleneck.

"With me, Zaeed?!"

"She zigs, we zag, ain't that the story of my goddamn life?"

"Let's see if we can keep your story going for a few more chapters, grandpa." Despite the firefight there was a serene feeling surrounding Shepard and Zaeed's banter, the senior officer hopping over the crate in order to be next to Liara as he ripped open the vent cover to hasten her escape.

"Liara. Go. Now."

The asari gave one last look, nodding her head slightly as she made her way into the vent. Ever since Mars she hated the things, surviving being shot by sheer luck and ineptitude of the indoctrinated Cerberus soldiers who had chased her.

She crawled through the metal tunnel as fast as she could as the sounds of the gunfire echoed behind her along with the sounds of Zaeed's maniacal laugh. Banking right she traveled up a steep incline until she found herself having to stand in order to climb up the vent. Thankfully her use of biotics allowed her body to maintain a near weightless feeling, increasing the speed she was able to climb and move forward.

The gunfire slowly dwindled in sound the further Liara went into the vent shaft, now hearing the murmuring and sounds of frightened civilians who were out of any line of fire. All this changed with a rather loud explosion, followed by another nearly the same size. The vibrations caused the Shadow Broker to pause in her pursuit of an exit. Despite Shepard's orders, she desperately wanted to turn back, thinking she could help. Perhaps he was seriously injured, about to be executed by a man who had so effectively fallen off any of her informants radars. She could save him again, maybe this time it would be different...

She stuck with Shepard's initial plan, moving forward until she found herself finding the shuffling of feet just meters away. This had to be the spot, and a toss of her biotics broke the grating away and into the feet of passers by, scared and shaken by the feeling that they were now going to be in the crossfire that was further down in the market place.

As they watched an asari, pistol drawn, slide out of the vent shaft they gave her adequate distance. A few who sat during the whole day to sell their wares noticed she was the same asari that was with Shepard earlier in the day, their quiet mumbles to those next to them were to let her pass.

She wasted no time examining the crowd that gathered but saw no blue armor in her place, and continued to run down the place, pushing those who refused to get out of her way. For a brief second she considered turning back towards the mercenaries, possibly ambushing them. Then again, what if Shepard and Zaeed had escaped? She would only be opening herself to another onslaught of gunfire and becoming a possible hostage. No, she followed her Captain's orders and continued toward her ship.

Liara finally arrived at the docking bay that housed the famed frigate, and her mind was weaving all the information together. When they docked hours earlier Joker had made mention of how out of the way the Normandy was compared to the previous year.

Shepard had dismissed this new dock due to the influx of ships docking following the war. It was an optimistic view, but it all made sense. The furthest dock, one of the more narrow hallways limiting escapes, all that needed to be known was whether Aria was complicit in this situation.

_The whiskey, did she know?_

As the decontamination process ended Liara entered the Normandy, seeing the natural response of a panicked crew unable to locate their Captain and his allies.

* * *

"Liara, here." Miranda placed a swatch of medigel along her torn calf, an injury that must have occurred as she made her way through the vents. The asari had just finished giving her account of what had happened as she sat in the seat behind Joker.

"Blue Suns, I thought they were still under Aria's control." Joker said as he heard his friend's story.

"Mercenaries can't be trusted, the same with that woman," Liara sighed as she hid her face in her hands. "After everything Shepard did for her!" she angrily said.

"You got that right," Joker said as he looked to connect with the ground team that had gone to inspect the area.

"Whatever jammer Vido put in place is still active, XO. Garrus and the others haven't been able to check in yet."

"While I am unable to break the jam in communication, I have been able to override the security cam feed," EDI added, a screen showing the marketplace filled with bodies and smoldering crates and debris.

On the recovered feed was the squad of Garrus, James, and Javik, checking for any survivors as a crowd of people gathered around them, some helping to move the bodies to the side of the street.

As Garrus kept his head looking up at the various levels and neon lights that covered the area, Javik placed his hand on the ground, a sight that a few recognized as the prothean using his latent ability to relive the situation that unfolded minutes before.

"Outside of Dragon's Teeth and well, everything involved with the reapers, that is one of the creepiest things I've seen," Joker quipped as the others watched the screen.

As Javik performed his skill, the screen showed Garrus looking directly at the camera that EDI was displaying. He stood there looking across the bustling open space as he processed the information, his face then turned as he looked for another camera which EDI opened up in a companion screen.

Stepping to this new found camera Garrus then wandered down the hallway that was the initial location for the attack. Phaeston in one hand, he pointed with his other at the remnants of flamethrowers that littered the ground, holding up two fingers to point out the quantity of the weapons.

Joker continued his commentary, "You think he knows we have a live feed now?"

"No doubt," Miranda said as she watched the turian look up for another camera as his C-Sec skills were trying to piece together exactly where such a powerful jammer would be located.

"That must have been the explosions I heard," Liara quietly said.

Walking away from the marketplace he noticed the thermal coupling-turned jammer Liara had deduced seconds before the attack. He shot the device with his rifle. His mandibles showed movement but there was still no sound from Garrus or the others.

"Two jammers, this really was a professional job..." Miranda muttered as her eyes narrowed at the revelation.

"The other jammer's by the light fixture just after the turn. That's where I would've placed it."

Kasumi had arrived at the deck, her foot no longer covered in a protective cast that allowed for her silent steps to return, catching many of the individuals off guard. Unfortunately for Joker, his jump at the new voice was seen by everyone in attendance. Momentarily he turned to his robotic companion with a pleading look as though he expected her to announce the master thief's presence.

Arms crossed, Miranda nodded at the thief's statement. It was a good choice, but she had her own way of outsmarting the constant surveillance. "I would think lower to the ground, possibly underneath the floor. The constant traffic hides the person planting the device."

"Ah, but you see this cut off between camera angles?" Kasumi stepped forward as silent as ever as she pointed at the screens to make her point. "A person walking with normal traffic just tosses it up while they walk with the crowd out of the marketplace, that's what we're looking at for someone to place such a high level jammer in such a short amount of time."

Mimicking the toss for Miranda and Liara she continued, "They're one-off devices, STG origin, the best on the market with absolute blackouts, so don't feel bad, EDI. Trouble is, once activated they work for about thirty minutes, max, before they run out of power. Tamper proof and made to ignite when the charge reaches zero." A shrug of her shoulders belayed one more additional point, "Well, that and the fact they cost almost as much as those Black Widows we use. Per pop."

Just as Kasumi finished discussing her trade and the devices used, Garrus appeared to call over James. He pointed to the second camera, although in reality the location was just to the side. James held up his shotgun with one arm as he pulled the trigger. The camera shook and was followed by the echoing of a loud bang letting everyone know they found the jammer.

_"Sorry about that everyone, kept my comm channel open, you know, just in case."_ James said apologetically as the thermal clip was ejected from his weapon.

_"Miranda, I've got traces of blood here but most of the stuff was burned in the explosions. We also had thirty dead civilians here, about a dozen more injured._

"John would leave something for a trail."

_"Not if he was still being attacked when he and Zaeed escaped."_

"I am detecting the tracker for Shepard and Mr. Massani in the marketplace, dock L-40."

"Garrus-"

_"On it. Lead me to it, EDI."_

_"This is Javik. It appears the Captain and Zaeed engaged in fighting as Liara went through the ventilation shaft. Enemies with flamethrowers attacked from behind, pushing the two into the marketplace. Grenades dropped, created an explosion that engulfed the entrance here,"_ Javik used his hands to encompass the area.

_"I was only able to see the heat from the blast after that."_ Ignoring the stares of the merchants who were enamored with seeing the last of the alien race as he walked towards the dock his companion had just entered. _"The Captain's enemies exited through this dock and departed, this is what my abilities have been able to recall."_

"Whatever was docked there was probably under an alias."

"It appears, Jeff, that it was a Kowloon Class vehicle, the MSV Upstanding. Docking data shows it arrived three days ago. Going though available footage now."

_"I can save her some time, it's not here now."_ Garrus said bluntly as he entered the dock. Another camera screen appeared in the increasingly crowded cockpit.

"Records show it should still be docked."

_"EDI, this is Omega. Bribes to the right people can solve everything. All I see here are Shepard and Zaeed's chestplates resting against some crates in some kind of a taunt. This is where our trackers end."_

"Goddess," Liara quietly said at the nonchalant revelation.

_"I'm sorry Liara. But this is where the trail ends unless EDI can work her magic."_

"Unfortunately, camera feeds show a looping pattern similar to what was found earlier. I can, however, confirm that this was the same freighter that records show for the MSV Upstanding and not another vessel."

A silence fell across the cockpit as the group looked to one another in a scene that mirrored the sobering reality the crew faced during the war. The rather flippant attitude the squad had used slowly receded. It seemed fitting at the time, there was always a trail to follow, and there still was time to find their Captain.

Joker's chair slowly turned to face the group as he lifted his hat from his head, rubbing his forehead slightly. His face did not show the concern that covered Liara's at the moment, but it showed a doubt about what to do next as he slowly exhaled.

His eyes connected with Miranda's as he looked for guidance. She was always a hardass, gladly playing bad cop even as her Ice Queen persona thawed over the course of her time on the ship, but she knew Shepard better than anyone else and he trusted her instincts, especially in finding the things she cherished. "Orders, XO?"

"John's not dead. Keep that in the forefront of your minds, all of you. No matter the intent, the man is worth just as much alive as he is dead, especially coming from mercenaries."

Finishing her important opening statement she quickly pinched her nose as she composed herself and took control of the role as the Normandy's commanding officer. "Garrus, retrieve the armor and return to the ship with the others, you have five minutes. Have Javik do...whatever he does to anyone who says they witnessed the firefight. If they resist, have James restrain them by any means necessary."

_"Understood."_

Liara raised an eyebrow at the rather ruthless tactic Miranda was suggesting. This demeanor she long thought gone reappeared, reminding her of the day she handed over the remains of Shepard to the Cerberus operative nearly three years ago.

"EDI, they couldn't have jammed everything on Omega, that would be too apparent. There's something else at stake here. Compare every known image of Santiago with Omega's cameras in the last ten hours. Also check every extranet report regarding Bekenstein and its former inhabitants and run those through any known Blue Suns activity in the last six months."

The orders were quick and demanding.

"It will take time, Miranda."

"Process faster."

"Additional processing power will deter from maintaining other functions of the ship."

"Then let it be. We have a crew who performed fine without you. Kasumi and Liara will help out as well," Miranda ordered as she stared at the two, both putting aside the sudden change in the human's attitude as they returned to their quarters to begin the data mining. "Joker, when the others arrive you depart. Immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

With a turn of her heel Miranda walked to the CIC. In these moments she missed the sound of her previous outfit's heels clicking away below her feet. The sound that brought with it the innate fear that the crew felt as she made her way past them, recognizing that at the very least they needed to look busy as she made her way through the ship.

Arriving a few steps in front of the elevator Miranda saw Traynor waiting for orders, the specialist clearly listened in on the whole situation.

"Traynor, check every known relay jump in the last ten minutes. I don't care who jumped, I don't care what type of ship. I need that information on screen in five minutes."

"Y-yes, Miss Lawson!" Immediately she began to look at her screens, plucking information into a tab of information as fast as she could.

Stepping up to the dais once again Miranda pressed the button for the intercom across all levels of the ship. "Crew of the Normandy, this is your Executive Officer. At the present time our Captain and Mr. Massani appear to have been kidnapped by the Blue Suns mercenary group."

Pressing a button to override the sleep pods and their inhabitants on deck 3, which included Ashley and Ken, she pressed forward with her speech, "You are now all on duty, any schedules are temporarily suspended. Chakwas has stimpacks available for those who do not feel they are at their optimum levels. Any crew function that EDI currently occupies will be taken over manually where possible by the end of this announcement. Those who do not comply with my orders will find themselves dishonorably discharged from the alliance and this ship." Those last words were a bluff, but it didn't matter; those who heard the words would be hard pressed to prove otherwise.

Taking a breath, Miranda took a second to remove the coldness her voice had possessed in the past minute. "Captain Shepard sacrificed everything for you, I expect you to afford him the same opportunity in the coming hours. We will make sure he is safely returned, and your due diligence will increase the speed at which this happens. Now get to work."


	30. Here We Are

30: Here We Are

The continuous noise of what sounded like rain hitting the metal facade of a prefab unit was the first thing Shepard heard as he slowly regained consciousness.

Slowly he attempted to focus his eyes yet found very little amongst the dimly lit surroundings outside of various crates that reflected what little light emitted from small devices in the room. Wherever he was the gravity felt real, and yet lighter than the artificial gravity created in human ships.

His head felt battered and from a quick movement of his face it seemed he had more than a few bruises, not to mention a gentle, constant, pain in his right leg. Trying to move his legs confirmed a pain that coursed up to his chest which was met with a deep hiss from the Spectre.

_Damn, broken. Again. But when..._

In the darkness Shepard was unable to detect anything in his temporary prison. Despite the ocular advancements Project Lazarus provided, night vision was not something that was on the bill.

Doing his best to keep his movement to the barest minimum and focusing away from the pain in his reawakened body, he waited until he heard the slight cough of his companion that caught his attention.

"Zaeed?" Shepard whispered quietly in hopes to get a response from his teammate.

"Behind you, Shepard. Wonderin' when you'd finish sleepin' " Zaeed's voice undermined his attempt at levity, dry and in clear need of water. Or alcohol.

Shepard had attempted to turn to see if he could make eye contact with the man. When his body resisted with additional bursts of pain he relented. "Any idea where we are?"

"Holding cell, probably one of Vido's various hideaways in the Terminus. Only woke up myself a few minutes earlier." A light cough interrupted his rundown of the situation. "Drugged, far as I can tell. Vido's such an asshole he didn't even kill us the right way."

"My leg's broken."

"Same here. Batarian kiss, the man always had an affinity for the things."

The 'batarian kiss,' a common human reference to the alien culture's use of breaking a leg of recently captured individuals in order to limit their chances of escape during slave raids. The technique was routinely decried by all other forms of galactic government, and quite a few colonist transition films made a point of highlighting the practice.

"I guess we're so special we have shackles too," Shepard said as he moved his fingers freely, yet was straining to lift his wrists under the weight of the thick cylindrical stocks that nearly covered the entirety of his arms, the two connected by a small metal bridge that kept a man's arms right in front of him like a standard criminal.

"Tell me about it, things feel like I've got two crates on my arms, hard enough to lift without my bloody leg being the way it is..."

Taking in the information Shepard thought back to what occurred before he found himself in such a situation. The last thing he remembered was tossing a grenade into Vido's squad as he fired away with his Mattock at those who chose to run away from the incoming explosion. He recalled the grenade going off, taking out a turian, and then his rifle fire causing another to take cover for injuries. It was then that he felt a wave of heat that broke his shields, a cold sweat permeated his body followed by a shout of his ally and his head slamming into the nearby wall. After that his memory remained fuzzy.

"I remember an explosion..."

"Those bastards got some reinforcements, flamethrowers. Got the jump on me while I was reloading and just got too close. Fired as much as I could before they burned us, blew the tanks up, knocked us out. And here we are."

"Here we are," Shepard repeated quietly.

"Shepard?" Zaeed's voice was weak, almost tinged with a sense of fear. It was something he never heard from the aged man as long as he knew him.

"Yeah?"

Whatever pain Shepard thought he heard disappeared with his blunt and raspy words as the always irritable man stated the true intent of his conversation, "Pay me."

Despite the pain Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at the demand as he thought about their current situation. He'd been through much worse over the course of his life and kept that in the forefront of his mind, and surely Zaeed did as well, making this whole situation seem to be nothing more than a terrible inconvenience for the veteran soldiers.

Realizing that, the Spectre began to ponder exactly why he was still alive. If the two were incapacitated, a few more rounds would have fulfilled any bounty that was placed on him.

_First things first._

"The crew. They'll find us soon enough, but let's do what we can to make their job easier."

"I've got one eye, one leg, and the weight of two Grunts on my arms, please explain how we'll get out of this."

"I can still talk."

* * *

"That's the end of my report, Admiral. We're looking at heading back to the Citadel after a holdover at Omega just to recalibrate EDI's functions on the ship."

_"Understood, Captain. I must stress my concern if her upload was able to damage the Normandy's QEC,"_ the aged Admiral said as his voice echoed through the CIC.

"No, no, sir, that was my mistake. Repurposing assets from the War Room was going on at the time, so when EDI returned it was, as Adams described, like a cannonball hitting a lake."

_"Um, I think what our Captain is trying to say is that the influx of EDI returning to her body overloaded certain areas that were previously placed under crew control. I believe the Captain meant to say it's the electronic equivalent of suddenly putting too much weight on one side of a canoe," _Connected on the channel for instances like this, Adams was attempting to make the situation easier to understand without losing his superior in over-detailed explanations. _"But we've got it handled sir, the QEC should be back online in a day."_

_"Understood, Lieutenant. I apologize for my earlier reservations about your mission, Captain. It seems I should know by now not to second guess you."_

"Water under the bridge, sir. Building is always harder than destroying, I can only imagine the pressure you're under. I'll just stick to shooting the bad guys."

The Admiral's hearty chuckle could be heard on the other end of the channel, followed by more cordial conversation from the superior officer. _"Now there's something we have no disagreement on."_

"I should go. Take care, sir."

Just as the channel closed Ashley's balled up fist came within inches of punching Joker's right arm. With his disease it would have broken the arm cleanly, but the marine was able to get the better of herself before making contact. It didn't stop her pilot from flinching as he stood at the dais with the other Spectre.

"I should go? Really, Jeff?"

"The Captain literally says it all the time! I thought the point was to make it seem like he was still here!"

Jeff slowly walked down the ramp with his guard still up, not quite sure if Ashley would still risk injury to the man just to enjoy making him pay for nearly blowing up the plan.

While Hackett had believed he was speaking with Shepard, in reality it was Joker doing his best to impersonate the tone and mannerisms of his Captain, with EDI being able to carefully alter Jeff's voice so that it sounded just like the man across standard communication channels. Engineer Adams found himself complicit in stretching out technical jargon should Hackett not fully buy the reason the QEC went offline.

The nearly paranoid response was anything but, according to Miranda. The current commanding officer of the Normandy made the point that the kidnapping of Shepard could have been ordered from someone in the higher levels of the alliance, even those within Hackett's inner circle, those who would be the interim representatives of humanity.

She reminded the crew of what Xen had said, and while every reality existed at the present moment, including one where the quarian was lying, there might also exist the very real possibility that the alliance no longer had a need for the man, that he would better serve agendas in death than still being such a symbolic figure to all races.

Safe from Ashley's reach, Joker made his way back to the cockpit, but not before getting one last word in as he slowly walked ahead. "I shouldn't be physically assaulted for trying to make people's lives better!" he said in a rather exaggerated, pouting tone.

He was over the top with his response which garnered a few much needed smiles and small bits of laughter from the crew on hand in the CIC, and smiled as he returned to his seat that others on the floor recognized his skills.

It had been nearly ten hours with no credible leads, and stimpacks or not the crew needed something to keep their spirits up. Many who had spent time on the ship felt that this was an all too common response, that many of the times the crew dropped in to hotspots across the galaxy it was a much more palpable fear than what they currently expected.

Perhaps the bar Shepard set for fear of his death was set too high in recent months. Even those who remembered the days he spent missing in Bahak recalled a much greater sense of dread.

From what data was available thanks to the relentless work of EDI and Liara, it seemed no ships matching the Upstanding hit the relay in the timeframe it took for the Normandy to begin its rather obtrusive patrol of the mass relay after departing Omega.

The Normandy had little authority in the Terminus System but many ships were in no position to challenge the most famous frigate in the galaxy when it stood between those exiting the system. Flagging ships under Spectre authority, the ship's advanced cyberwarfare capabilities thoroughly scanned the ships that prepared to make the jump.

The biggest concern at the moment was the belief that Vido might have switched ships and made the jump, but that momentary transition would have delayed any exit from the system, eliminating the head start the Blue Suns leader would have had.

While the Normandy remained in a constant holding pattern around the relay, remaining a de facto bouncer, the ship's two Kodiak shuttles had already departed to nearby destinations. Consensus had been that in order to elude the Normandy, Vido would resort to the FTL capabilities of his Kowloon ship and remain somewhere in the nebula to hide and, if necessary, discharge the ship's core.

One of the first locations chosen to potentially find their Captain was one Miranda knew all too well: Lorek.

A planet that the batarians would claim as their own from the asari, it was there that Shepard and their crew recovered the crucial intel of Cerberus Operative Tyrone Rawlings. Home to both Eclipse and Blue Suns mercenaries, along with being one of the hegemony's foremost colonies, it was one of the nearest locations for a man of Vido's reputation to disappear beneath layers of protection in both mercenary and political form.

Liara's own suggestion came from remembering her conversation with Aria hours prior. She insisted on taking James and Javik to the largest layover station that resided around the gas planet Imorkan. Her reasoning was multi-layered: if she was unable to gather information on the station by bribe or by force, she believed that by shaking the hornet's nest it would increase local extranet chatter and provide a greater chance to locate Vido.

Hours earlier Ashley was first to volunteer for assisting Garrus as he traveled to Lorek with Samara and Kasumi, yet was immediately shot down by Miranda. No other explanation was given, nor would Miranda provide it; Ashley was to remain on deck in the CIC to assist with Traynor and EDI's work.

Still frustrated by that decision, on top of Jeff's nearly exposing the ruse to Hackett, she sighed as she turned at the opening of the war room door, her crossed arms breaking apart as she grabbed the datapad tossed her way with a biotic glow.

"That contains every known outpost and news report from Lorek in the past two years. Since we don't have a Captain or a Blue Suns mercenary currently available I want your alliance opinion on where Garrus should scout first."

Miranda's words might have seemed tinged with a passive aggressive aura, a backhanded compliment about Ashley's skills, but given the current situation it was more an attempt to find an opinion she trusted. It was also a subtle explanation of why she chose to keep Williams on the ship. Ashley recognized this revelation, providing a quick nod as the two made eye contact in an attempt to remain confident to the other that the situation will end with Shepard safely returned.

"Jeff just finished speaking with Admiral Hackett."

"I was listening in."

"Of course you were..." Much like Miranda's initial opening to their conversation, Ashley responded with a turn of phrase that would have seemed to include more venom than actually existed.

Traynor watched as the two women stood in front of what would normally be Shepard's private terminal, Miranda logging into the system with her hip resting to one side while Ashley leaned her back onto the station as she started to flip through the datapad. The specialist knew there was an understanding and even respect that was forming between the two, but wondered if they were even aware due to the current situation.

Almost sensing the young woman's eyes glancing her way, Miranda turned to catch her just as she quickly returned to her work. Feet now crossed as her posterior kept her balanced against the desk, Ashley noticed the movement from her periphery and smirked as she stayed focused on the information in front of her.

"With the others out in the shuttles I think everyone's expecting us to butt heads."

Miranda exhaled deeply from her nose in annoyance upon hearing those words, "Bloody fools..."

As she continued to type away at the terminal, she continued to speak as the two were occupied in their work. "Ashley, I know you might have a problem with lying to the Admiral but we don't know who is pulling the strings. And to be frank, I only trust those on this ship at the moment."

"Oh I know, trust me." Ashley's voice carried a sympathetic tone that was surprising to hear. "After the battle of the Citadel so many admirals and military brass tried to implicate the Skipper on sacrificing human lives, even turned around and ignored his reports even before the Council did. The old SR-1 crew retreated into itself when everyone but Anderson refused to listen to us."

"Seems to be a common trend among the Normandy ships."

"I didn't think it mattered as long as we were out there, doing _something_, even if it was meaningless scouting. You know how it is with Shepard; he'll find or stumble upon what he's searching for, no matter what the universe puts in his way."

Miranda didn't know exactly why those words stuck with her, but they lowered her guard briefly. It wasn't due to anger at her companion, but almost another phrase that had deeper meaning to the conversation the two were discussing. Almost...reassuring?

Making sure to hide her surprise at the Lieutenant Commander's caring tone, Miranda couldn't help but try and expound, "If you knew John was being sent on a fool's errand, why did you seem to be so adamant about staying with the alliance after the ship was destroyed?"

A swipe of the palm against the datapad showed Ashley's irritation at what she heard, though it wasn't directed at Miranda, just old emotions resurfacing. "With the Skipper gone, I was lost. A Williams had helped the first human Spectre prevent the death of the Council, that should have made up for Shanxi, right?"

She looked to Miranda in a rhetorical nature as she continued, "But then the Normandy was destroyed. And so damn _easily_, too." The words lingered on her tongue as she hid her anger behind the glow of the screen. "I thought it was another thing I had to atone for, that it was my name, again, that caused everything to fall apart. So, just like when I signed up for the alliance, I had to stay put, balance out the scales again. Plus, I knew I could still trust Anderson."

Miranda didn't bring up Horizon, she felt no reason to. During one of their meetings in the middle of the war Shepard had told her how Ashley had truly apologized for doubting him all this time since his death and resurrection, that the Citadel Coup had finally put everything in perspective between the two. _For a woman of faith, I completely lost my faith in you_, she remembered him recalling the words.

Joker's voice interrupted her thoughts as Miranda continued to look through various programs. _"XO, Liara's making contact, patching her through." _

* * *

Standing over an injured batarian, Liara used her biotics to lift him up so that his face was centimeters away from hers. Despite his attempts to resist there was no change in the asari's face as her eyes slowly went black, merging her mind with the other in an attempt to get the information she sought.

Liara's identity as the Shadow Broker remained hidden, but despite the revelation of that notorious moniker she had gathered her own reputation on Illium and abroad as being very cold and ruthless when needed, murmurs of her ability to gather information by her genetic ability travelling across the extranet in both fear and attraction.

The batarian's head snapped back as he mumbled uncontrollably, his limp body falling to the ground as Liara had gathered all the information she needed.

"Anybody else want to experience that, or would you amigos prefer the old fashioned way of verbal intimidation?"

James proudly and tauntingly tapped his shotgun against his shoulder's armor while using his free hand to point across the room, asking any of the aliens in the docking bay to respond.

At first the usual dismissal to Liara's announcement for information among the mercs and refugees was met with the common response, many returning to their games and consumption of various vices as commerce continued around them. The batarian that currently floated in front of Liara, donned in standard Blue Suns armor, had attempted to be much more crass at Liara's first diplomatic attempt at acquiring information. The following seconds were not kind to him, and it seemed he had regretted the insults that came off his tongue.

A few of Aria's mercenaries, the peace keepers she had mentioned, attempted to draw their weapons, keeping true her promise to keep the way station a safe place, but the combined physical and biotic threat of Vega and Javik persuaded them otherwise.

Shaking his head, Vega simply grinned as the security remained where they stood, knowing they valued their well-being more than adhering to Aria's wishes. This time, at least.

"Did you find anything?" Javik asked, one mind melding species to another.

"Nothing outside of vivid memories from the day after the reapers were destroyed."

"Hey, sweet lips," A nearby turian arrived from two tables over, pointing his talon out at Liara in an accusatory tone, "I don't know what makes you think you can just walk in here, but we're not going to let you boss us around. We're veterans of the reaper war, probably saw more fighting than you'll ever see in your life!" A few smatterings of applause came from the company the turian kept.

"Fool, did you not see what she accomplished just a minute ago?" Javik questioned with scorn. The turian's talon still outstretched, Javik grabbed the hand with his own, establishing the mental connection of his birthright. After seconds of silence the two separated, the Turian taken aback by what just happened, his red war paint contrasted sharply against his now rather pale skin..

Javik turned to face the crowd of soldiers, "Interestingly, this particular member of your squad did fight against some Collectors in the system a month back. He pushed two of his allies into a scion's path to reach the extraction shuttle and save himself." A slight tsk and look of disappointment covered the prothean's face and his four eyes. "How revealing. You should only make sacrifices like that if they can no longer fight."

"You son of a bitch, Derran, you said they were killed before the shuttle landed!" One of the humans in the group screamed as he got out of his seat to confront the shocked turian.

The other members of the Blue Suns group were also shocked at the revelation, murmurings about his betrayal and turian curses being flung back and forth as the conflict rose to levels above the common background noise of the station.

"I think this was a waste of time, Freckles." Vega said as he led the other two back towards their shuttle, stepping over the catatonic alien as no one stopped them, the guards now concerned with the near fight that was about to take place between the Blue Suns members.

"There has been too much activity in the area for me to find any difference between the humans that pass through this vessel," Javik mentioned as Liara ignored the two, connecting with Joker via her comm.

"Miranda, I've interviewed a few select members of the station, Vido never passed through here. Let's hope Garrus has better luck on his end."

_"Understood, Liara."_

"So, this was it? Just knocking some punks around?" James asked. Under different circumstances he would revel in a good brawl, but at the present time it seemed rather misguided.

"Maybe I just wanted to blow off some steam, Lieutenant," Liara replied in a coy manner as they turned into the dock that housed their shuttle. Before they completely left the common area a lone gunshot was heard, followed by the sounds of guards breaking up a fight.

"Liara, we should continue to interrogate these lesser species," Javik mentioned as the shuttle door opened, the three returning to their seats as Vega made his way to the pilot's chair.

A slight smile covered Liara's face as her hand supported her face, feeling the shuttle depart and nimbly return to open space. "No need, the soldier had everything we needed. He wasn't just a run of the mill scout, he was one of the Shadow Broker's informants. I just had to make sure I kept his cover. Not that he knew who I really was, of course."

"Tricky. Triiiicky." James said in a growing drawl of approval.

Before Javik could speak at the new turn of events, Liara was already patched in to the Normandy, "Miranda, forget what I said before, Shepard's on Lorek, for sure. A big influx of Blue Suns mercs were rerouted to that planet and Omega hours before we arrived. I'd bet a century of my life that's where he is."

_"Great job, Liara. I'll let Garrus know right away, return to the ship so we can rendezvous with his squad,"_ Miranda said, her voice slightly higher in tone at the good news.

"You heard the lady, Lieutenant," Liara proudly said as she crossed her arms in triumph.

"Something about being bossed around by you lovely ladies sure does make me feel motivated..." Vega said as he increased the shuttle's speed and flicked the appropriate switches, all the while Javik maintained a slight look of puzzlement at how quickly the mood had shifted in recent minutes. _Primitives._

* * *

The dimly lit room that imprisoned the shackled soldiers gained a brief respite from the darkness as the door slid open to allow for two Blue Suns soldiers to enter. One human and the other batarian, they watched as Shepard and Zaeed held their weary heads up at the sound of their captors entering, seemingly accepting their current situation.

One of the guards tossed two packages on the floor near the feet of each captor, "Make 'em count, that's the only meal you two are going to get."

"Should've killed me on Omega," Zaeed grumbled as he tried to focus his good eye on the dark skinned soldier who tossed him a prepackaged ration.

"Vido told me you used to run this outfit with him, before he learned the intricacies of the business. He tried to kill you back then too, though you were too stubborn to take to it. So who knows, he might just torture you some more."

"I can't die until Santiago dies, you little shit," a quick jab of pain from his broken leg caused Zaeed to pause in the middle of his speech, causing laughter from the batarian who was more than likely the culprit for the injury. "So if you want to see me keel over, best bring the man in."

Mocking the older human, the soldier twiddled his thumbs as he replied "Gee, can't do that at the present time, sir, he's busy talking with whoever it is that wanted you so badly. Well, not you, Massani, but the illustrious Captain over there," the soldier gently pointed at Shepard across the room, who had stayed quiet since the guards entered, his eyes at a squint as his bruised face tried to make out the two who stood at the door.

"I heard it was some rich batarian who survived the war, seems like he's wanting his revenge," the batarian said behind a grin of sharp teeth, kicking the ration along the ground as he noticed Shepard slowly lift his heavy shackles in the former direction of the meal.

"No way, I'm told it's an asari, lost her family on Thessia because the 'Captain' requested an escort that diverted soldiers from the outpost her daughter was stationed at."

"Look at you two, gabbing like a bunch of hookers who just sucked off an elcor for red sand," Zaeed chastised, drawing ire from the human. He took the few steps needed to reach across the room and punched the mercenary square in the jaw, the force of the blow causing him to hit his head on a nearby storage crate. Despite the violent hit and small amount of blood that left his mouth, Zaeed continued to laugh at his own joke as though the punch wasn't as strong as the soldier intended.

"Kor, looks like this guy wants another kiss," The human's threat drew the batarian over to him, who casually removed his metal plated club from his thigh.

"I always did like how you humans called it a 'kiss,' it makes it so much easier for us to continue to use it. It's the sense of affection, you know?"

He hit Zaeed once, almost playfully, across the face, then again as the club returned to it's original position.

"That's the best you've got? No wonder killing cannibals was so easy during the war,"

The man had many faults, a few the result of his continually running mouth, but at the present time Zaeed's taunts were doing exactly what he wanted them to do.

Rotating his neck in a circle to contain his anger the batarian took the moment to prepare for his next swing, making sure his arm was nice and loose.

But before Kor could land his first blow a cough from behind caused both he and his human companion to find Shepard calmly standing between them and the door. His eyes were still squinting and his head was forming light beads of sweat as a result of the pain of moving such weight with a broken leg, but there he was in an open attempt at mocking his captors with such a move.

Both shocked at this, coupled with a laugh and a spit of blood from Zaeed in the background, the batarian prepared to wind his arm up for a blow from his club, before the human guard held up his hand to stop the action, taking the club into his own hand.

"You really do seem to be some tough son of a bitch, you know that? Oh, this is going to be a great hit to tell the boys about,"

Finally, Shepard spoke. "You want to know how I was able to do that?"

"Something about you being a robot or something, came back from the dead and all that."

A light chuckle came from the swollen lips of Shepard, along with Zaeed's chuckle in the background. "Can you believe this, Zaeed? First I'm the human ideal, and then I fight off death?"

"If I had a beer for every time someone said that to you, I'd need a new liver every month."

Confused at the levity, the human guard lowered his arm slightly but still maintained a position with which to strike out. "What are you getting at?"

"Just think it through, which you probably haven't," Shepard calmly spoke as his squinting eyes grew to show the white of his eyes, what little that wasn't bloodshot from his injuries.

"How does a guy with a broken leg carry himself up, with nearly a foty kilos on each hand, and do so in such a way that you two, who are supposed to be trained mercenaries, can't hear? You think it's all just sheer force of will and years of N7 training?"

The batarian looked away quickly to make sure Zaeed hadn't pulled anything similar while also using it as an excuse to avoid looking Shepard in the eye, as the calm, confident tone the Captain used had unsettled the previously bombastic guards.

Zaeed scoffed as the batarian looked at him, finally righting his self from the crate. "Oh, don't look at me, princess, you know the answer now, don't you?"

"Biotics," Shepard smugly said, his lingering smile immediately causing the human guard to step back to gain some distance.

"When the alliance had me under arrest for destroying that relay, they were experimenting on me with a new type of implants. One-of-a-kind. L7s."

"Nonsense!" The batarian said in a dismissive tone as he tried to hide the fear of the truth he was hearing. "There's nothing in your medical history to indicate that!"

"That's what everyone said about the Reapers too. I wasn't lying about that, was I?" Shepard said as he took a step forward, making it appear as though he had no damage or weight to burden him. "Run a scan on your omnitool, you'll see for yourself."

At first the human guard tried to hold his ground, but ultimately ceded another step backwards as he handed the club back to the batarian, bringing up the orange glow of his own handheld device.

As soon as the device appeared over his hand he felt his knees buckle beneath him, the result of Zaeed rolling his body into the legs of his opponent, accompanied by the sounds and grunts of a man too old for this type of maneuver.

The guard's knees hit the metal floor, unable to move out of the way as Shepard pushed his arms forward quickly, letting the gauntlets that wrapped his arms make contact with opposing skin, instantly knocking the enemy out with a fractured skull.

The Batarian had tried to step back as he thought about pulling out his pistol and abandoning his club, but Shepard spun his body like a top, leaving his hands out in front of him to gather momentum that allowed for the gauntlets to connect with the batarian right between his neck and chest, tossing him to the side as the sounds of the alien struggling to breath could be heard.

This feat of strength was not without it's consequences as Shepard's battered body succumbed to the burden of the heavy shackles and his broken leg immediately. The adrenaline rush had finally subsided, and with it gone the pain of his leg returned, causing the Captain to drop his hands to the ground as he tried to give himself a moment's rest, his body now exuding a cold sweat.

On top of his broken leg, he could feel something was torn in his shoulder, which could only be natural following the attempt at making the weighty shackles move as though they were feathers. Fighting the dry heaves his body offered as it attempted to handle the pain in his leg, he closed his eyes to suck in one large breath of air before moving over to the human guard and his still-active omnitool.

While Zaeed did his best to right himself and move off the guard, he met Shepard at the glowing orange device. "Biotics, can't believe that worked."

"Easier to believe than the truth, I guess," Shepard remarked in a sense of disbelief as he used his free fingers to tediously work through the exposed omnitool to deactivate the shackles.

"Probably have another minute, two at most before the others get suspicious, Shepard."

"Working on it." Shepard's brow showed a man doing his best to deal with the impatience that came from such a slow attempt at accessing files under their current circumstances. "Times like this I wish I had salarian fingers."

The room fell silent, save for the ever fainter gasps of breath from the batarian across the room.

Finally, a slight two note sound emerged from Zaeed's gauntlets, opening up along the horizontal seam that was pushed open with the human's eagerness at getting free.

"Hot damn," Zaeed said in joyous whisper as he made his way over to the batarian, looking to replace his armor plates with the available Blue Suns pieces. With their chestplates gone, the sight of the two would garner looks of confusion and snickers, not to mention their added vulnerability in such a rag-tag state.

Another two-tone sound chirped in as Shepard's gauntlets unlocked and he pushed his hands free, glad to hear such a solid thud as the shackles opened up completely and landed on the ground. He was going to follow Zaeed's role in changing armor but first made an attempt with his omnitool to try and call in to the Normandy.

"Come on, come on..."

"Got a medigel, Shepard. Won't fix the leg but can numb the pain until we get away from wherever the 'ell we are."

Zaeed tossed one of the packets to the Spectre as he ripped open his own, quickly applying the bag to his leg in order to speed up the numbing process as he continued to fit the plates to his magnetic under armor, firmly strapping in the new leg plate as tight as he could to provide some extra support to the limb.

As Shepard applied his own medigel he informed Zaeed of his attempts to connect with their allies. "Too far away from the Normandy to make contact, need to get to a terminal of some kind."

"Either you get that armor on your person or you're going to look like a bloody fool when we step out of here." Zaeed made his way gingerly back over to his Captain as he checked the suit's pistol and rifle, the previous yellow and white armor that saw years of battle now replaced by the standard blue armor that Zaeed brought into the galaxy decades before.

"Blue suits you, matches your hair. And your eye," Shepard couldn't help but quip as he quickly replaced the armor plates. His friend simply responded with a middle finger as he made his way to the door.

"I've set up my omni-tool to broadcast my signal as soon as we get to a terminal, so we just have to keep ourselves at a distance from all the others, find helmets if we can."

"If only we were turians we'd blend in better, they all look alike."

A firm hand on Zaeed's shoulder signaled a time for the humor to stop as the two looked each other in the eyes and reverted to a quiet understanding. "Stay alert. If it all goes to shit we shoot our way out, but our first goal is to alert the Normandy and find some kind of transport out of here."

"And Vido?" Zaeed's look of anger showed this wasn't some lighthearted feeling, he was going to make sure the man did not live to see another day.

The quiet yet approving nod from his Captain told him all he needed. In response, the old man could only grunt a laugh of satisfaction.

**I wanted to get this chapter out over the holiday weekend, but no dice. I'll make sure the next chapter is out a little quicker, so thanks for sticking with me.**


	31. Pull That Trigger

31: Pull That Trigger

Thunder slowly rumbled across the mountainous terrain of where Shepard and Zaeed currently found themselves, the constant rain and flashes of lightning comfortably obscuring the sun as the two nonchalantly walked from the prefab building that was their makeshift prison.

The location of this unit seemed to be placed at the bottom of a small chasm, a place where something, millennia ago, caused a separation in the tan and orange colored mountainside.

Shepard held his hand over his swollen face to protect his eyes from the heavy rain as he looked up, noticing the intricate walkway that seemed to create a zigzag pattern from each rocky face until it reached the top of wherever this was that Vido had placed this base of operations.

From the stairs that led to the bottom where the two currently stood, it appeared to be a deliberate step in the layout of this location: as Shepard and Zaeed slowly made their way up the metal stairs, they found themselves looking at doors that led inside the cliff faces, circular doors and their red and green lights that along with their shiny metallic frames brought contrast against the natural environment.

This beehive-like pattern repeated for what seemed four more levels, in many ways reminding Shepard of the dilapidated apartment alleyways he would run through on Earth in his youth.

A flash of lightning highlighted a locked door nearest to the two, and not wanting to draw the attention of any unseen Blue Suns mercenaries the two calmly walked across the metal walkway to the other cliff face, seeking solace from the rain inside, and hopefully finding a terminal with which to contact the Normandy.

The door opened with the standard hiss and inside the two slowly stepped, hands dancing lightly around their pistols with each slow step. The inside of the built out room seemed dim, a large table offering relaxation for no guards at the present time, the constant hum of the lone fluorescent light that was hanging above the table providing the only visibility in the area.

A quiet suppressed cough came from Shepard's right, instinctively causing the Spectre to hold his hand up to cease their progress inside. Peeking around the corner they were presented another room, this time one that appeared to be the bunks for those members of Vido's squad that were off shift and attempting to get in hours of rest.

Zaeed, through his silent mannerisms and eye contact with Shepard, attempted to make the point that they should eliminate the soldiers while they still could. It was only four soldiers who were sleeping yet could easily be disposed of by these two.

Shepard repeatedly declined the man's desire to eliminate the threats. At the moment they weren't a threat, and at this point it might create greater problems should they be unable to find any way of communicating with the Normandy.

Zaeed finally relented but not before insisting they take the two rifles that sat on the chairs in front of them. Mercenaries were often ruthless but lacked the discipline and methodic attention to detail that marines had in the placement of their equipment during downtime.

Returning to the continuous rain outside, the rifles were quickly tossed into a puddle at the bottom of the chasm, away from any visible area on the walkway.

The two continued their normal walks, doing their best to hide any limps in their stride should any unseen guards above look down and spot the two. In the downpour one could mistake Shepard's neatly manicured scalp for that of a batarian, while Zaeed, not matching the skin complexion of the mercenary that checked in on him, would at least give others a secondary look.

Making their way up the walkway to the next level, the two watched as a trio of soldiers slowly made their way into the highest entrance on the other side of the complex, various expletives about the rain being heard as they remained oblivious to the imposters that were two floors below.

One more flight of stairs were walked up before they heard the sounds of a shuttle's thrusters lifting off.

Moments later Shepard watched a shuttle take off as he looked at the peak of the canyon, letting the rain hit his face as he kept an eye on the vessel.

"Vido better not be on that shuttle," Zaeed growled as he too watched the shuttle gain altitude and quickly disappear out of sight.

"If the boss was departing, I would think there would be much more activity in the base."

"The man never shows his true intentions. You know where we were when the bastard betrayed me? In the middle of a bloody strip club."

At first Shepard thought it was the wind up for a joke, but the man's face did not buckle under the confused look of his superior officer.

"Let's keep moving up, that couldn't be the only shuttle."

As the two made their to the next level, it was here their quiet breakout would end. Two batarian mercs walked out of the nearby station, a second passed as they comprehended that the two in similar armor in front of them were in fact their prisoners.

One of the enemies pulled his Predator from his side firing off one shot before Shepard and Zaeed could close in and subdue the two, but their efforts would be for nothing. Below, the level they had chosen to skip after finding the barracks, four more soldiers arrived out in the rain, weapons drawn as they fixed their sights on the two.

Quickly Shepard made his way inside the previously occupied room, finding it to have a much desired communication terminal with range outside of the planet.

Zaeed fired the pilfered pistol of his own down at the guards, buying a second or two as he moved into the facility as well, but not before shooting the enemies he had just subdued.

Without thinking he pushed one of the lifeless bodies away from the door entrance with his right leg in order for it to be sealed, bringing with it the pain he had up to this point succeeded in subduing as the two made their escape.

"Son of a bitch!" he chastised himself.

Shepard activated his own omnitool as he connected it wirelessly to the communications terminal in front of him. The blue and orange screens appeared as the Captain's back channel access codes ran through a standard connection. A circular glow flashed on screen as a connection was established quickly with the Normandy, a message briefly sent along with Shepard's current location.

* * *

Joker and EDI pushed the Normandy through FTL as fast as the ship would allow, arriving in the Fathar system in what would be record time from Omega, twenty minutes.

Miranda, arms crossed and impatiently tapping her foot as she stood behind her pilot's chair, watched as an incoming message flashed with a priority channel that brought itself onscreen without any prompt from Joker or Miranda.

Initially hostile to such an action and a severe breach of Normandy security, Miranda's face relaxed as she realized the coordinates were referring to a location on the very planet the ship was racing towards. Coupled with the coordinates was a simple garbled word, a message that ensured it could only be her lover, her Captain, that sent the message: **thrunthru**.

"You ass..." Miranda said with a hiss that would only reveal itself to be playful in nature if a person was able to look at her face.

Unfortunately, Joker was preoccupied at the moment.

"Miranda, I'm pushing the ship as fast as I can, gimme a break here!"

"Not you, moron. It's John."

"Hey, don't-"

Joker's objection to being called a moron was cut short as Miranda immediately brought up communication to the shuttle Cortez was piloting that contained Garrus' squad.

"Cortez, I'm sending you the Captain's location right now, destroy anything in your way."

_"Aye aye, ma'am."_

_"We got this, Lawson, don't worry,"_ Was all that Garrus chimed in as the communication ceased.

Their shuttle had arrived outside the planet's orbit just minutes earlier as it maintained it's stealth capabilities upon descent, avoiding detection by the planetary government as well as any mercenary ships in orbit.

Returning to the CIC Miranda's pace increased as she walked past Ashley, who had just witnessed the message as well on a nearby screen. Placing a firm hand on the female Spectre's shoulder, Miranda offered complete praise.

"The location you chose was spot on, Lieutenant Commander, only one thousand kilometers away from John's actual spot."

When it came to finding a needle in a haystack, which was inside a barn full of other haystacks, the distance was as good as you could get when it came to rapidly making such an important decision with the limited time available, which made the extra minutes the Kodiak had out in front of the Normandy even more important.

Ashley knew she felt that feeling somewhere before, from Shepard his self during their days on the SR-1, before they became intimate. Miranda was simply doing her best to imitate the mannerisms by which Shepard would praise his crew. It seemed it was also a trait of his aboard the SR-2.

Despite the clear imitation, she recognized the praise as genuine.

"Get to the shuttle, Williams. I want that Kodiak out of the hangar at a moment's notice should Garrus need assistance."

"Aye aye, ma'am."

* * *

"-yoo hoo, I've got my sights on yo-u-u-u."

The rather tone deaf sound of someone singing what appeared to be a pop song awoke Tali, who slowly opened her eyes to see a woman dressed in a sterile protective suit placing various bottles and medicine on a portable medical table, her back turned to the quarian as she continued to shake her hips to her own beat.

_Has...has Chakwas been drinking again?_

Lifting her hand up as though she could touch the person to save her ears the sound of such a butchered song, Tali realized she was seeing her hand fully exposed. Slowly she waved her hand back and forth, her mind no longer paying attention to the poorly sung song but rather how fluid her hand looked against the soft blue light of the AI core.

Gently she took her free waving hand and touched her face, feeling her skin make contact with itself. For as long as she remained in her suit during her life, this normal occurrence to other species was something that always felt whimsical to her.

She gently smiled to herself as the hand slowly made it's way up her head, almost independent of her own thoughts at the present time, until it reached a gently bandaged area near her hairline.

"Oh. Ohhhhh..." Tali humorously said out loud, realizing when she received the injury. One moment she was welcoming EDI back into her body, then from the corner of her eye she saw a blue flash of light hit her helmet, along with the shattered glass face.

"I don't like Xen," was all the quarian could bluntly say, almost like a child as she continued to pat the bandage on her head. Whatever painkillers and antibiotics Chakwas had administered during her time in surgery had yet to wear off, leaving Tali in an almost quizzical state of consciousness.

Tali awaking was still unnoticed by the other female in the AI core, her placement of medication and water now finally complete.

"And when I find you-u-u, I'm gonna-"

"Pull. That. Trigger!" Tali thought she was speaking at her normal voice but it was much, much louder, finishing the lyrics to the song as she made pistols with her hands, pretending to fire them off after each word she spoke.

Quickly Oriana turned around, her face full of shock and embarrassment at her singing being discovered. Tali simply smiled and waved at the human, her eyes moving from the human's face back to her hand.

"Omigosh I'm so sorry, Dr. Chakwas said you would still be out for a bit!"

"Relax, Oriana, I like that song. Just not the way you sing it."

Oriana rolled the portable table over to Tali's bed, making sure it was within easy distance for the injured crewmember to retrieve her medication.

"I was told just to place this here, you would 'know the drill.' "

"Yeah, I wish I could say it's been easy around here, but I'm used to this room. I should run a tube from here down to engineering to yell at Donnelly and Daniels. Tube. Tuuuuuuube."

Oriana's eyes widened as she saw just how out of sorts the quarian was, on top of seeing her face in person. Her white irises had a very calming effect over the young human, a sense of optimism she rarely saw in recent months from others. Perhaps this was the way Tali always looked underneath her suit, or maybe it was all a side effect of the drugs she was currently on. Tali simply continued her laughter at repeating the same word over and over.

Clutching the tray close to her chest Oriana pointed to the suit that rested on a nearby storage crate. "This was left by Mr. Vakarian, along with a video for you to enjoy while you recover."

"Where _is_ that cutey, anyway? I wanted him to play nurse..."

"Um, it's kind of a long story, actually, but it seems the Captain was kidnapped on Omega. The whole crew's been kept on hand to help find him. Apparently the Blue Suns were involved?"

"Blue. Blue. Bluuuuue..." Tali was attempting to gather up another laugh until Oriana's words finally stuck in her brain. "Shepard is missing? Again?"

Oriana looked at Tali with a slight tilt of her head at the reaction. "Yes, along with Zaeed."

"Oh. Well, that's not a big problem," Tali said with little emotion as she reached for the water and her medication.

Surprised by the rapid sobriety on display, Oriana threw her hands out in desperation at the cool response. "Why is everyone on this ship acting like this isn't a big deal? He's your bloody Captain!"

Finishing the drink of water, Tali smacked her lips and placed the glass back on the table.

"The poor man has died, been brought back to fight an enemy he knew next to nothing about, was stabbed, burned, shot, fought dozens of enemies single-handedly, played chicken with a reaper, got locked in a vault by his clone, and then nearly died again. Look, I've run out of fingers to keep track," she wiggled her digits to make her point, "oh, and in all that time he went missing for three days in batarian space before a relay blew up."

Tali placed her hands horizontally in front of her as she rested in the bed as if to imitate steps for another visual metaphor, "this is kind of at the bottom of the ladder in terms of concern. And if he has someone else with him, like that madman Zaeed, it's nothing but an inconvenience."

Oriana knew about certain aspects of Shepard's life, a few coming from Miranda's own mouth after she was rescued on Horizon, but hearing them all in rapid succession made her see just how tested he and his crew were in the past four years.

Acting like she was the older sister, Tali waved her hand. "Now, be a dear and fetch me my suit, I need to get ready."

"Dr. Chakwas said you're to remain here until she gives the all clear."

"I can still do some work if I have my suit on. Lots of built in programs, I can confab with Engineering about my ship."

_"I believe you mean my ship, Tali,"_ EDI quickly replied, causing both Tali and Oriana to jump slightly at the eavesdropping.

"EDI! You're back in your usual spot!" Tali quickly overcame her shock and waved around in vain as there were no cameras in the AI core.

_"Thank you, Tali. I suggest that you do not exert yourself at the present time, we are currently busy-"_

"Finding Shepard, I understand."

_"Actually we have found his location and are en route to provide assistance to Mr. Vakarian's squad."_

"See, Oriana?" Tali gracefully curled the fingers of her right hand as if to display the speaker directly above as it told of the current situation.

Grumbling behind her protective suit, Oriana walked over to retrieve Tali's new suit as she found it hard to believe that _this_ was the best ship in the galaxy.

* * *

Just as quickly as the connection was established did it end as Shepard removed the omnitool from the terminal, using the Vindicator rifle at his disposal to make sure the terminal would never be able to be used again.

With a slight limp Shepard returned to the entrance door, ready to open fire with Zaeed in order to clear a path as they continued onward and upward.

Hugging the corner of the entrance as the door slid open a barrage of fire entered the room, with Zaeed firing blindly as Shepard was first to make eye contact with the enemies. He counted eight, all coming from the other side of the walkway, with two more running from the walkway atop to join the battle.

"I have eyes on ten of them, two look like biotics!"

Zaeed took the information from his Captain as the two changed duties, the older human taking aim while Shepard reloaded.

Zaeed finished firing as his shield picked up a few rounds of fire, then returned to cover as he pulled up his omnitool. "I've got a surprise!"

"Go for it!"

The next thing Shepard heard was three beeps from Zaeed's arm, followed by a very loud explosion that came from the bottom of the chasm.

The prefab unit that initially housed the two exploded in a massive fireball that shook the area with shockwaves that caused one of the soldiers on the walkway to fall three stories below to his death, while the others grabbed on to the railing as parts of the walkway broke apart due to the massive blast.

"Move, Shepard! Up one more!"

Not used to receiving the order Shepard still obliged, using the distraction to make it to the level that would hopefully house one more shuttle.

With haste, and yet still feeling the shortness of breath that came from exerting increased pressure on his leg as he moved up the nearby stairs, Shepard made his way to the final walkway, using the increased vantage point to fire at the enemies below, striking one in the chest as the human fell back into his turian ally.

"Three o'clock!"

Zaeed's yell came too late as Shepard found his right leg pulled by a blue rope of dark energy, causing the man to lose his weapon as he floated for what seemed like minutes in the air.

Perhaps it was the severe pain that seemed to dilate time since being pulled to the other cliff face, but Shepard slowly found himself upside down and moving away from Zaeed, whose lips moved slowly to form some curse while he made his way up the stairs.

Shepard's body continued to rotate until he saw the orange flames from the destroyed building below. Despite the rain that continued to pour the fire fought valiantly. _Where did those explosives come from?_

Finally time seemed to click back to normal as the Spectre found his chest slamming into the handrail of the highest walkway and then desperately trying to keep himself from falling back into flaming building below.

Fight or flight was blaring in Shepard's mind. Seeing as how he had just flown, he clawed his way back over the rail onto the walkway while using his pistol to fire away at the batarian that had just used his biotics. The lashes knocked away the rounds as he moved closer to Shepard, who had lost his balance thanks to his broken leg giving out under the pressure of the last ten seconds.

From below the other Blue Suns mercs continued to fire at any visible area of the Captain that appeared over the walkway in such a fashion that Shepard was pinned to the ground.

Slowly crawling away to the nearby door Shepard emptied his pistol as he pulled his body through the now open door. Zaeed was occupied with keeping the other enemies at bay, which meant that batarian who had perfected his lash technique was still coming towards the Captain, almost relishing the way his prey had been injured.

"Shepard, hold on!" Zaeed shouted as the door shut. It would be a few more seconds before Shepard's ally would be able to help, which made the next actions all the more crucial.

"You served your purpose, now this is for my people," the batarian harshly spoke as he threw down another lash of biotic energy, missing the legs of his target as Shepard lifted himself into a backwards roll, a move that also brought forth his body remembering the tear in his right shoulder when making his escape.

Never the time to placate his body with a singular grunt of pain, Shepard rolled backwards one more time to get out of the way of a follow-up lash that had pulled a nearby storage crate to the other side of the room.

He had yet to make eye contact on the vehicle due to his preoccupation with staying alive, but Shepard could tell by the added space this was a hangar built into the canyon. The added space also meant a greater advantage for the human against his biotically gifted enemy.

Quickly Shepard reloaded his pistol as he found himself behind a nearby pillar as the batarian used his own Vindicator rifle to fire at the Spectre while his biotics recharged.

The door opened as Zaeed made his way into the hangar, shooting at the distracted batarian but also taking fire from the remaining soldiers that closed in on the location. Cursing at the fire that pierced his shields, the old man fired away at the nearby door panel, sealing in the three for the time being.

Shepard fired three shots at the batarian, erasing his shields but not before one last attempt at lash was successful.

Pulled forward once again by his waist, Shepard made sure the next two shots would connect with the batarian, one hitting his arm, the other hitting him in the head. As the enemy collapsed so did any lingering control of the biotic lash. Striking against another pillar Shepard slowly lifted his body off the floor as he coughed up a small amount of blood.

Dizzy, Shepard's body began to cramp as he favored his left leg. Eyes still trying to make sense of what happened, he focused on the shuttle that sat in the middle of the hangar.

"Zaeed..." Shepard wiped his mouth of any lingering blood and pointed to the ceiling as he shuffled to the shuttle's cockpit, alerting his partner to open up the horizontal opening as they heard the remaining foes massing at the door.

Throwing his body into the seat Shepard made sure to fire up the shuttle as fast as he could, thrusters starting to warm up as Zaeed smashed the large hangar activation console with the bottom of his fist.

"Lift off, man!" Zaeed shouted as he made his way to the shuttle, thrusters pushing up and scorching the metal plating beneath, but not before the previously sealed door exploded, followed by an onslaught of rifle fire from every remaining Blue Suns member on the premises.

Zaeed wasted what was left of his thermal clip as he threw himself onto the floor of the shuttle, shutting the door as it absorbed multiple rounds of fire.

_"Captain? Are you ok? We've locked onto your position and are coming in to get you and Massani out of there."_ Cortez's voice spoke into Shepard's earpiece as he slowly rotated the shuttle as it passed the hangar door as he looked to hightail it out of the base.

"Cortez, perfect timing. Zaeed and I are on a Blue Suns shuttle, need some air support!"

_"Understood, Captain. Ninety seconds out."_

Before the shuttle could escape the base, the engine exploded, spinning the shuttle around as Shepard desperately tried to keep the transport level. Zaeed gripped the available handle to keep himself from falling back on the floor.

The small distance the shuttle traveled was enough to stop it from landing back in the hangar bay, but not enough to make it avoid crashing into the rocky hillside that extended from the base's side.

"Brace!"

"Bracing!"

The shuttle's front end struck the canyon's side before the momentum carried it on the side to rip off one of the shuttle doors before crashing vertically on its opposite side.

Emergency protocols activated as the remaining shuttle door shot open to the sky above it, the downpour that existed only increasing in intensity as the rain made its way into the shuttle and onto the battered and weary members of the Normandy.

Zaeed, using all that was left of his upper body strength, made his way out of the tilted shuttle first as he climbed onto the flat rocky surface that was actually the roof of the Blue Sun's base. Smoke billowed as the shuttle found itself wedged into a crevasse, with Shepard arriving from the wreckage seconds later and making way to safer ground, but the two were only a meter from the steep drop that was on their left side.

"You guys really are something, I'll give you that," Vido's voice came from in front of them as he walked through the wafting smoke, wet rocks slowly compacting into the ground below his footsteps.

Tossing his ML-77 launcher from his shoulder Vido pulled his Carnifex from his thigh as its modified laser sight circled around Shepard's chest. "You know me, Massani, I'm not the kind to willingly blow up my own equipment, but with you two it seems to be a necessity. After you took out two dozen of my men, it just makes sense to kill you both now. You're of no use to me anymore"

"Vido..." Zaeed coughed the response in as much anger as he could muster as he crawled on broken legs to the man who existed only to fuel his revenge. A shot to the ground before him sprayed rock into his face as it caused Zaeed to stop his crawl.

"It's amazing how much you keep yourself alive, all because of me," Vido said as he crouched down, tapping the pistol to the back of Zaeed's head. "Rent free, in your head, for twenty years, Massani. I think that says more about you than me."

Zaeed grabbed a hold of Vido's ankle, his grip weak but refusing to budge as Vido righted himself and pointed his pistol at his former colleague's head.

A rock was thrown at Vido's skull before he could pull the trigger. Small in diameter but with enough heft to instinctively cause Vido to cover his face with his free hand.

"Piece of shit!" Vido wiped the blood from his cheek as the rain washed away what remained on his face. Aiming his weapon at a defiant Shepard, the Captain could only respond with a smile as the sound of thunder rolled through once again.

"Human ideal, huh? Throwing rocks like a caveman."

Before Vido could fire his pistol another boom of thunder arrived overhead, followed by a sniper round hitting the man's shoulder, breaking through his shields with ease.

Staggered and shocked Vido tried to regain his footing but Zaeed clawed at his leg and his chest armor, keeping the Blue Suns leader from maintaining any balance. The two slowly went over the edge, Zaeed laughing hysterically that finally, _finally_, he would get his revenge on Vido. "Twenty years!" He screamed.

"I'll make sure you die first, you son of a bitch!" Zaeed exclaimed as he watched Vido's face fill with fear at the realization he would be unable to survive this fall. One last shout of denial left Vido's mouth as the two fell over.

Before Shepard could call out his companion's name to stop his actions a familiar blue shuttle blew past the wreckage as it whipped up the rain around the three, seeing Garrus mockingly salute his friend as the shuttle door stayed open while the Kodiak dove down into the nearly kilometer deep drop.

As the shuttle door stayed open during the dive Samara threw out a wave of biotics as she enveloped Zaeed in a protective tether. The mercenary continued to laugh as he realized his life was spared, but knew there would be no saving his enemy. He watched as the man fell to the rocky bottom. There would be Vido's final resting spot.

The Kodiak's thrusters aimed down as it slowly balanced and then rose back to the top of the cliff, all the while Samara maintained expert control over her ally.

As the justicar pulled Zaeed into the shuttle Garrus hopped onto the wet ground as the shuttle rose to the plateau's top, holstering his rifle on his approach to his best friend.

Shepard stuck his left hand out as Garrus did the same, realizing their must be something wrong with his primary hand if it was not offered up for assistance. The two grabbed each other's arms as the human was pulled up while doing his best to keep his weight off his right side.

"Before you say anything, I **was** aiming for his arm. Spirits help me if I killed Vido for that drunken fool."

"Why are you so defensive? I was just going to say thanks for the help." Shepard said wearily, unable to hide his smirk.

Just from looking at how Shepard carried himself, Garrus could tell the injuries he had sustained and quickly moved to his right side, using his body as support for his wounded friend.

"You didn't happen to see a shuttle heading off the planet, did you?"

"Too low to the ground to detect anything trying to break the atmosphere. Something we need to be on the lookout for?"

"I thought it was Vido making another escape but you saw what happened here. Guess he thought he would win. They always think that, don't they?"

Garrus simply grunted a reply, reflecting on the many times the two had confrontations go less than planned, even with his Captain's diplomatic skills.

Kasumi had stepped out of the shuttle to help Garrus assist Shepard into the shuttle, slightly shocked at how bruised his face was. Without missing a beat she removed a packet of medigel from her pouch and began to apply it to Shepard's face.

"Really, Shep, it looks like you have a concussion on top of a concussion."

"Been through worse," he quickly replied as he flinched at the cool gel mixing with the rain as he paused for Kasumi to apply the gel before gently limping into the shuttle.

"Captain, thank the goddess we arrived in time," Samara said in relief as Shepard threw his body into the Kodiak's seat, Zaeed sitting across the man with the asari applying medical aid.

As the shuttle slowly rose to depart, Shepard gave one more order. "Cortez, there's still some hostiles in the hangar, drop them a care package."

"Aye aye, sir," Cortez brought up the targeting system of the Kodiak, scans indicating a half dozen enemies below. Kasumi quickly made her way to the co-pilot's chair, activating the missile systems and firing three missiles into the hangar opening, explosions rocking the landscape with another orange fireball appearing in the thunderstorm.

"A little overkill, but then again what isn't these days?" Kasumi lifted her hands up as Cortez smiled at the result.

"XO, the Captain and Massani are secure, on our way back."

_"About to enter the system, locking in on your coordinates for rendezvous. Good job, everyone. Welcome back, Captain,"_ Miranda said as relief built up upon uttering the last word.

"Good job?! More like great fucking job! Santiago's dead!" Zaeed proudly exclaimed but was then unable to hide the pain in both his now-broken legs. This was still unable to hide his joy at what he saw, now quietly speaking to himself as he affirmed what he saw. "He's dead. He's really dead..."

"That is creepy," Kasumi said as she made her way back to the passenger area of the shuttle, doing what she could to assist in the removal of armor for Shepard as she left Zaeed in his self congratulating mode.

"You guys should be thankful," she shrugged as she pulled off Shepard's chestplate with as much delicacy as she could muster, along with his left arm that he offered, "we just _assumed_ you two were the injured Blue Suns mercernaries that were about to be shot by the boss."

"Maybe that's why Garrus' shot was so good, he thought Vido was me."

"No way, if it was you it would have been a clean headshot."

"So you _do_ admit you were aiming for his head."

"Oi! Nobody kills Vido but me!" Zaeed snapped out of his jubilation to scowl at the two's banter, causing the human and turian friend to laugh in response.

"Zaeed."

"Yeah, Shepard?"

"That first explosion, what did you do?"

"Oh that, it was ace in the hole. I rigged my old armor with explosives, in case I ever wanted to go out with a bang."

Everyone in the shuttle sat in amazement at the revelation.

"So, you've been wearing explosives...all this time?" Samara asked with a stunned expression.

"Always have. Laced around my belt, primed and detonated by a three step omnitool command."

"How considerate..." Kasumi mockingly complimented as her mind recalled how many times she fought next to the mercenary without knowing this particular piece of information.

"What?" Zaeed said, somewhat surprised by their response. "What? The volus who sold me it assured it wouldn't detonate without my input command!" He raised his hand as his omnitool activated. "Now I have to get a whole new set of armor," moving his legs slightly he also grimaced at the result, "and a new pair of bloody legs, feels like."

Garrus rolled his eyes as he rested his elbows on his knees. "He's become a Jerry Attic."

"Geriatric."

"Whatever."

* * *

A large diagnostic machine pivoted over the infirmary bed that Shepard was resting in as an orange grid of light started at the Captain's head, slowly making its way to his feet. Wearing only his boxers and standard off duty alliance t-shirt, Shepard kept his eyes open as instructed by his longtime doctor.

"My nose itches."

"I bet it does, Captain, but I need you to remain still or you'll have to have another scan performed," Doctor Chakwas reminded him.

She never looked up from her datapad as the results were delivered from the scanner to her device as she had heard all his complaints before. For a man who had endured nearly unspeakable injuries to his body, she always found it peculiar that he was unable to maintain his patience for such a mundane scan.

Zaeed received treatment first, both due to the severity of his wounds as well as the man's insistence that he be able to celebrate Vido's demise as soon as possible in the port observation deck.

Legs mended and placed in casts along with enough hidden tranquilizers in his medication to put the man out of commission for a day, Oriana had wheeled him out of the medbay to place him in the observation deck so when he awoke he would attribute it to his celebratory drinking.

The scanner had finished its operation with an upbeat tone signaling the completion, and with it Shepard scratched his nose as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, nothing new here, Captain. Concussion, dislocated shoulder that you forced back into its socket, broken femur, and bruised ribs." Playfully, Chakwas tapped Shepard on the various parts of his body she mentioned with her pen. "Head, shoulders, knees and toes."

"Funny, doctor."

Her pen gently tapped an area around Shepard's arm, circling around a deep bruise that looked as though Shepard had an IV drip attached to him.

"Was this from the ground squad that rescued you?"

Shepard lifted his head up a bit to check the area she was referring to before shaking his head, "I had my armor on the whole time, I don't know what that's from."

"Well, the scan shows there's nothing in your system, no tracers or anything that would be an anomaly."

Chakwas made a note about this on her datapad as she placed the device on her desk before cleaning her hands and donning new medical gloves.

Slapping Shepard's good leg she began her work on the soldier. "Let me brace your leg first, then you know the usual drill. You should be out of here in half an hour."

"What time is it on the Normandy?"

"Just about supper time," Chakwas said as motherly as possible as her hands gently squeezed Shepard's right leg while she began her preparation.

The medbay door slid open as Miranda walked in, knowing she would be a distraction to Shepard during Chakwas' diagnosis. She had met her lover in the hangar as the shuttle landed, holding his hand in a gentle comfort all the way to the infirmary.

"Here, John, for your head," she smiled softly as she placed an ice pack on his head while caressing his face with her free hand.

"Where have you told Joker to head to now?" He spoke while trying to maintain a stoic face as Chakwas slowly set his leg. It was only when he physically felt the bone move back into place that he was unable to hide the pain, letting out a hefty exhale.

"I'll fill you in on everything after Karin is done, suffice to say Hackett knows nothing about what happened on Omega. And that you should speak to Jeff about imitating you on the comm."

"Wha-" Shepard was confused by this tease as Chakwas firmly braced his leg for the final time.

Shaking his head, he realized Miranda's reasoning for the conversation. "I get it, you're trying to keep me distracted while Dr. Chakwas works."

"Not exactly, John."

"She's telling the truth, dear," Chakwas spoke up as she walked over to get the military grade cast material from a med tray.

"Like I said, John, I'll explain later. In the meantime we're in transit to the Citadel and should be there in a day," she removed the ice pack and kissed his bruised head delicately as she rested her posterior on the bed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, letting his face rest in between her chest and arm as she placed the ice against the bruise.

Shepard instinctively wrapped his left arm around her waist to welcome her onto his bed as he slowly rubbed her thigh in response to her embrace.

Chakwas couldn't help but smile at the tender moment often reserved for places more private, but with her hands full she tilted her head at his broken leg. "Miranda, your biotics please."

Knowing her intention Miranda's free hand flared up in a biotic aura, slowly raising Shepard's leg so that Chakwas could firmly place the malleable cast down on the bed. Bringing the leg back down Chakwas then wrapped the material over the top of his leg and merged the ends together with a slight pinch. Shepard could feel the material slowly forming and adapting to his leg as Chakwas provided a slight pulse of heat with her various medical devices which caused the material to slowly expand and harden.

After a few more minutes Chakwas was complete in the healing process, giving a firm slap on the freshly made cast.

"With all the implants and modifications you've blessed yourself with in yur second lifetime, you should be fully healed in four days. Can you go that long without the need to visit me?"

"But I enjoy our talks, doctor. It's the only way I can get your attention."

Chakwas grabbed Shepard's chin and squeezed his cheeks, shaking just enough so he felt the tease. If it was anyone else on the ship outside of Miranda, Shepard wouldn't have allowed such an action to occur.

"Now go, both of you. I'd like to enjoy my hard-earned meal."

Shepard made his way off the bed, the cast absorbing the weight of his body yet Miranda still made her way over to his weak side to provide support.

"Miranda, make sure to apply the thermal pads to his shoulder before you two go to bed."

"Of course, Karin."

Before the two were able to leave the infirmary they stopped after hearing another door open behind them, an incoherent muffled chuckle being heard along with the shuffling of feet.

"Awwwww, you look so cute like that!" Tali cooed, still not fully lucid from her own injuries. She grasped her hands and held them up to her helmet in mock affection, or perhaps it was the real thing.

Slightly embarrassed at the words Shepard quickly straightened out in order to look more like the commanding officer he was. "Tali," he cleared his throat slightly, "I'm glad to see you up and recovered."

"That should be _recovering_, Captain." Chakwas said as she placed her arms on her hips at the revelation. "Tali, return to your bed, wait until we've arrived to the Citadel."

"Oh, come on, it's dinner time!"

"And I will inform Garrus that you're awake so he can bring you your food. Now go. Rest."

Tali thought about intimidating Chakwas into stepping out of the way, yet the doctor was steadfast in stopping Tali from taking any further steps. Knowing defeat she sighed and quickly turned back around into the AI core, mumbling something about dextro independence.

As the door shut Chakwas turned around with her head in her hands as she slowly rubbed her temples. "When it rains, it pours with you people."

Giving quick glances to each other, Shepard and Miranda made their way back to the loft, but not before being bombarded with hooting and hollering from the crew members gathering for the evening meal at the good news that their Captain had returned.


	32. Rest & Relaxation

32: Rest and Relaxation

Sleep was hard for Shepard to come by as he stared up through the glass skylight in his cabin. Broken arms and legs were things that were always common to the lifelong soldier, but trying to find sleep in his bed with a woman nestled on his chest was something he had yet to experience with a broken leg.

During a dinner the two shared with his squad and crew before returning to the loft, the Normandy's Captain was told of how the crew was working with all hands on deck, leading many to require the use of stimpacks to maintain their alertness.

It seemed that despite her perfected genetics and advanced training, the strain of the past day had effected Miranda more than she let on, and stimpack crashes were notorious across alliance space.

Sleeping comfortably in his arms, she was much more relaxed than her normal sleeping patterns would dictate. At this point he wondered just how deep her sleep was, as the smile on her face seemed to indicate she was having a very happy dream.

Shepard returned the unknown smile at the woman who had completely let her guard down, and was shocked by the light snoring he heard as her lips reverberated ever so slightly on his chest. At the same time he could sense the feeling in his leg being lost. Half of his body was being used as a pillow, the other half was either wrapped in a cast that became increasingly more itchy along with thermal pads that continued to radiate heat from his shoulder and, unable to fully dissipate into the covers, became trapped right behind his back. He was slowly working up a sweat in a way he never expected considering his location.

He remained in this limbo between pillow duty and personal comfort until what felt like an hour later, Miranda had rotated off of her human furniture. It wasn't complete serendipity as Miranda took what little sheets Shepard had claimed for herself, leaving his body in complete confusion as to how it felt. Hot? Cold? Itchy? Tired?

Finally the savior of the galaxy could take no more, and quietly made his way to the elevator as fast as his injured body would allow. If he couldn't find rest, he could at least steal a beer below. As long as Chakwas wasn't in the area, of course.

* * *

Shepard arrived on the crew deck, and slowly made his way to the portside observation in order to procure whatever human refreshment was available. Inside Zaeed was still out of commission, sitting in his wheelchair with a few bottles placed around to fool the man into thinking he drank himself to sleep in celebration. _Seems Oriana was a step ahead._

Hastily retreating after retrieving his target, he slowly walked among the mess hall to find the previously packed area completely desolate. The lights were dimmed as the night shift was in full effect. Twisting off the bottle's cap he used the glass bottom to tap at his omnitool to figure out who among his squad was given the honor of being "on-duty" during the night shift. His answer walked right in front of him as the medbay doors opened.

Deftly Shepard hid the bottle behind his back as he slowly stepped back to the sink. He was commanding officer but Chakwas had scalpels. And lasers.

He watched as Garrus emerged into the mess hall, surprised to see his friend hiding the alcohol behind his body, a scared look turned to relief.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Garrus waved his talon back and forth at the sight.

"Shut up."

"Hold on, let me get something. Meet me in the starboard lounge" Garrus' talon turned vertical as the two made their ways to opposite ends of the ship. Despite the broken leg Shepard moved fast past the infirmary, not knowing if Chakwas was looking over medical reports so late during the day.

The starboard lounge was completely empty as Shepard hobbled over to the couch and sat down, taking a sip of beer as his reward.

Garrus came in seconds later, a turian ale in his own hand. He made his way over to the other seat on the couch as the two tapped bottles.

"How long do you drag that around?"

"Four days."

"When we get to the Citadel, people are going to wonder why you have that."

"Armor will hide it. Or maybe I'll just stay on the ship then."

"Diva," Garrus joked as he took a sip of beer.

A long pause occurred as the two watched the blue shift effect outside. Finally, Garrus opened his mouth again.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it. You apologized to Miranda and she forgave you, that's all that matters. It's not like you pointed a gun at me or anything."

Garrus tried to make out Shepard's intentions as he watched his face, but when he made eye contact he saw the Spectre was holding no grudges about their physical altercation two days ago. Still he prodded, this time with a turian smirk.

"I get it, you're trying to act all superior, make me feel even more guilty."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shepard lied as he took another sip of beer.

"Of course you don't, how could you comprehend or even hear what I'm saying when you're so high up on your pedestal."

Shepard could barely hold in his alcohol, coughing a bit but holding up his bottle as if to say "nice job."

Garrus took another sip before turning serious as he leaned forward and place his arms on his knees, "I am sorry. Now I know how you felt on Horizon. What is it about those females that blocks out every other thought in our heads?"

Shepard gave a second to think about his response. He didn't know whether to joke or play it straight, but the seriousness with which Garrus awaited his response would be poorly rewarded with a flippant remark. "I think it's because you know they're the future, you know? Your future. And the path is, I don't know, right there." Hoping to make his point even more Shepard held his hands up as giant indicators to narrow and point at something on the other side of the room. "That sense that it's all gone because someone or something else got in your way, you feel cheated, get angry, lash out."

Keeping his hands pointing forward as he finished, Shepard looked to his friend, not only to indicate he was finished but to also look for reaffirmation in what he said, if any of it made sense.

Garrus was impressed by the response and nodded a bit that yes, there was some coherence there. He sat back in contemplation at the words. The two had spent so, so long thinking ahead only in terms of days, sometimes even hours, that the concept of something lasting beyond that was foreign to them. Miranda had said it best herself, they weren't good at attached.

"I should have known better that she would be ok though. Even when working on aliens, when has Chakwas ever let us down?"

"Just make sure you pay her back."

"Of course. First stop off the ship? Finding a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy. And something for Miranda too, as a peace offering. Her eyes, they can be nasty."

"Wouldn't know what you're talking about..." Shepard lied again.

"Miranda did a good job keeping the crew in check while you were gone. Helped keep Liara focused," Garrus said as a slight notice that her feelings were very obvious, "established duties and goals right away, kept the new crew busy who weren't used to you being abducted, the usual."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from her. Ice Queen?"

"A little. At first. But then she realized this is nothing new for us and backed off a bit. Your constant check-ins across the ship were imitated well."

"Save that for my tombstone. Really. John Shepard: helped destroy the reapers but excelled at checking in."

Without looking up from the bottle, Shepard heard Garrus's omnitool activate. The man was actually writing it down.

Garrus was still typing as he spoke, "You know, we have a sentient AI back on the ship, and just came from a fight with a quarian admiral who was shot by someone under your command."

"Only because that admiral shot another quarian admiral under my command," Shepard quickly interjected, knowing where this was heading.

"You're putting a lot of targets on your back, Shepard. I didn't even count Omega."

"I'm fine if they're on me and not anyone else."

Garrus scoffed at the noble but childlike response. "You're being stubborn. What about Miranda? You think she enjoys being that close to the target? She spent her whole life avoiding the spotlight until she met you, and is now willing to unconditionally give that up to be with you."

Making his point, he expounded, "And she _is_ a former Cerberus operative, and coupled with your recent actions..."

"Oh, that's just bullshit. Everyone knows this ship has had the best form every species."

"True, but that was only for you to beat the reapers. We're in the aftermath. Wars may end but politics never does, and a lot of people who were too busy hiding when the real fighting went on are going to suddenly find the courage to say you did everything wrong."

Finishing his beer, Garrus burped slightly before finishing his speech to his friend. "Do you see how I've tied these things together? I'm just objectively stating what we went through recently. Imagine if I tried to put a political spin on it."

Shepard finished what was left of his beer, glugging it down furiously, "Shit."

"The situation or the lack of beer?"

"Both."

Shepard stood up with a grunt, leaving the empty bottle on the couch. He made his way to the window while placing his hands on his hips, slightly dejected.

"It's only going to become a bigger pain in our ass, isn't it?"

The turian rose to his feet to meet his friend at the window. "Whatever it takes to make this work, I'm here with you, Shepard. And Tali, too. This _is_ the most iconic ship in the quarian fleet, you know."

"And if it all goes to hell we can just go rogue, hasn't stopped us before." Shepard and Garrus lightly bumped fists at the idea.

"Another beer?"

"You know it."

* * *

The elevator door opened as Shepard made his way back into his quarters, returning to the darkness that was illuminated only by his fish tank. He made sure not to clank his cast against the metal grating so as not to disturb Miranda, but as he made his way back to the bed he stopped as the black haired beauty quickly turned her body around on the mattress so that her naked back was exposed. She gave only a blank, emotionless stare as her eyelids tried to open up, but her eyes, they completely immobilized any further motion by Shepard.

Miranda stretched out slightly and patted his spot with her hand, welcoming him back to their bed. He obliged as he gingerly got comfortable only to find himself returning to being her pillow.

She kissed his lips quickly at first, then following up with a longer kiss before stopping.

"A beer, John? Chakwas would be furious."

"Just talking some things through with Garrus."

"He's on duty tonight, right," she gently poked his chest, "I hope it wasn't about me..."

"It was. When we get to the Citadel, you're fired. Theft of bedsheets."

Miranda growled lightly at the accurate accusation before relinquishing control of some sheets. Shepard took what he could as he kissed her forehead as both closed their eyes and enjoyed the embrace.

She let out a contented sigh before she mumbled a response some more, "We're sleeping in until we're an hour out from the Citadel, I've already told EDI to make sure James and Ashley get things ready."

"Oh really?" Shepard's enthusiastic response mustered a smile.

"Not tonight, cowboy. I'd only hurt you some more," she pulled herself closer as she nestled into his neck, "you need your rest."

* * *

"This is the Normandy, requesting docking clearance."

_"We have you on screen, Normandy. Authorization checks out, please arrive at Dock 422."_

"Roger that, control," Joker said before turning off the channel. His chair turned to look at Shepard who had listened in on the conversation.

"Just like old times, eh, Captain?"

"The old Spectre dock as opposed to the Alliance docks."

"I noticed that too, wonder what's in store for you. If it was a completely different dock this time I would have just parked the ship around Jupiter."

"Very thoughtful, Joker."

"From what I have been able to recover from local extranet feeds, it seems various high ranking ships are arriving at the Citadel," EDI reported as she joined in the cockpit conversation.

"You think they might be returning to the Serpent Nebula?"

"Is that even possible?"

The two humans turned to EDI's robotic body, expecting an answer any second now. When they didn't receive one, Joker slightly coughed.

"Oh. I am sorry, Jeff. My consensus says it is the official induction of other races into the Council."

"Con...sensus?" Jeff looked on slack jawed at hearing that word again. He quickly looked to his Captain before EDI stood up.

"That was a joke, Jeff."

"I'm...I'm just gonna focus on bringing us in to port."

"Just be sure to give the other ships a wide berth, we don't want to be involved with any other altercations."

"Captain Shepard is now scared of conflict, got it."

Shepard's hand covered his face as he turned back to the CIC. _I'm being too nice to the crew..._

"Williams, you like it up there?" Shepard said as he saw the LC standing at the dais.

"Feels good, Captain. Should have been my spot, you know," Williams replied as the two switched places, Ashley giving a datapad of requisition requests in the switch.

"Funny, Ash. Everyone's a real comedian today..." he grumbled as he looked over the requests.

A few moments to take in the information showed Shepard nodding his head in various places. He looked up for a moment to see Ashley donned in her alliance armor, freshly detailed as the Spectre logo on her shoulder reflected some light due to the immaculate condition of the detailing.

"What gives with the cleaned up armor?"

"The Council induction ceremony is in a day, Skipper."

"How did you know?" Shepard's attention was now completely off the requisition.

"Captain, haven't you checked your terminal?" Traynor asked in slight surprise that Shepard was completely off guard.

The Captain didn't know if she was being serious or not, seeing how indisposed he was for the past day. Apparently the joke was not Traynor's intention.

Defensively, Shepard responded as he slapped his cast lightly, "I haven't really paid attention, what with the kidnapping and all."

"I'm sorry, Captain, I thought you would have checked messages in your cabin while recuperating," Traynor's apology was sincere but the smirk on her face afterwards, as she drew her own conclusions about Shepard being indisposed since returning to the Normandy, was completely due to her own imagination.

Ashley helped her confused Captain out. "All Spectres currently complete with their missions are to return and stand watch over the expansion of the Council. A little bit of security detail but mainly just a photo-op for the galaxy."

Shepard thought back to when humanity was given a seat on the Council. It had been decided minutes after defeating Sovereign, but there was an official induction ceremony that Shepard had to attend days later upon Citadel fleet reinforcement. He had received a medal for that battle, lost somewhere in space when the SR-1 was destroyed. Instead of reliving the ceremony his mind thought back to Anderson finally getting his recognition, having been removed from Spectre consideration due to Saren decades before.

"I remember humanity's joining and the big production values, I can only imagine how the other species are going to react to getting a place on the Council."

"Well, better get out the polish, Captain. Blue Suns armor should really shine, shouldn't it?" Ashley's sarcastic wink made Shepard realize he was completely unprepared for the ceremony in terms of armor. And his N7 Armor was already broken in and just to his liking...

"Shame about the armor, Captain. They'll probably make this induction even bigger to take the galaxy's mind off rebuilding, if only for a bit," Traynor's fake concern was evident as she twisted the knife some more.

Wasting no more time Shepard quickly limped to the elevator, heading down to the hangar in order to don his third set of N7 armor in under two months. He did his best to ignore to laughter the two women were doing their best to fight back.

* * *

"What do you mean this was my fault?" Miranda asked with a slight resentment as she and Shepard waited for the elevator to make its way from C-Sec to the Presidium. Ever inquisitive Oriana and Kasumi watched on at the forming argument.

"You look at my messages all the time, a little heads up would have been nice." Shepard replied in a mock-serious tone as his eyes were busy checking his donned armor for scuffs, wiping specs of old dirt and grime from some bygone mission as he found them.

Miranda rolled her eyes at the accusation "You still have a day to get prepared, John, when did a nearly thirty hour head start become a bad thing?"

"Miranda?"

"Yes, Kasumi?"

"Remember when we went to rescue the crew from the Collectors? How quickly that turnaround was even though we were flying into unknown territory, risking certain death, even arguing for just an extra day to prepare?"

"I do remember something along those lines..." Miranda's eyes slowly rolled over to make contact with Shepard's, playing along.

Suddenly his eyes realized there were more important things to look at in the elevator, like the floor indicator. "These elevators are always so slow..."

Again Shepard heard the sound of laughter being held back behind closed mouths, knowing Oriana was enjoying every second of this.

Finally the elevator opened and the four exited into the bustling hallways that looked just like the Presidium of old. Stores were once again opened, Avina terminals were up and running, and rubble that once littered the hallways were removed. The artificial lakes still contained debris as fountains flowed, and a cursory glance of various damaged buildings from the Crucible firing remained, but the damage was much more hidden than before. It certainly didn't seem to hinder commerce in the coming historic days.

Kasumi whistled at the also increased security presence. "Looks like Bailey is really making a point to showcase the Citadel's own resolve."

The thief slapped her hands together as if to snap out of any thoughts of recreational thievery. "Alright, I'll take the kid to go get some supplies for the next few days, see if your money is still worth something after the war," Kasumi cheekily said as Oriana moved lockstep to her side.

"I'm going to join them, John. That way you have time to check-in with the Council about preparations for tomorrow," Miranda quickly said as she stepped in front of him.

"My next stop after the Spectre office. You three have whatever fun you can find, just make sure you don't lose my jacket," Shepard tugged at the front of his stolen N7 jacket as he pulled Miranda close, the two sharing a quick kiss before separating.

"Ass." the two uttered the word at the same time, with Miranda's smile increasing ever so more.

"Keep an eye on her, Oriana, Captain's orders."

"Sir, yes sir!"

The embassies were busy as always, only this time they seemed to be deluged with various representatives of galactic governments. Arguments about seating arrangements, after parties, it was all something that seemed so...meaningless as the war ended only a month prior.

Shepard was able to use the increased traffic to easily disguise himself as he walked to the Spectre office with only little fanfare. He had thought of changing his direction upon reaching Bailey's office, but the locked door showed the man was once again out in the field making sure C-Sec's presence was felt.

The Spectre office wasn't as barren as he thought it would be. Their ranks were small but it was the first time in the Spectre's history that he had been around more than one other soldier that bore the prestigious rank.

Jondum Bau seemed to have returned from his missions without looking any worse for wear. The skinny salarian was busy modifying his armor on one of the available workbenches, lifting his head and waving a hand of welcome as his wiry frame was even smaller without being in armor. while his companion the next table over continued to talk without looking at the door, letting the voice confirmation that echoed above announce the human ally.

He was another salarian, donned in green armor that contrasted his yellowish skin, and was finishing putting his Scorpion pistol back together, a cigarette stuck in his mouth. Salarians showed their age more than other species, yet this one looked young, possibly recruited during the two years Shepard was dead.

He looked up at the human with an blank stare, his eyelids closing up slowly as he reached for the cigarette in his mouth.

"Captain Shepard, great to finally meet you." The salarian held out his other free hand in shake. He was hiding his reverence at seeing the man who spearheaded the war effort but also carried a certain assurance of his own abilities that stopped the interaction from being a case of hero-worship. Shepard shook the salarian's hand with confidence as the cigarette was flung to the ground and stomped out.

"Name's Ceeder Vo." Unlike most salarians this one did not possess the same affinity for rapid speaking. This made his rather high toned voice, a trait all salarians shared, even odder as it was drawn out much like other species.

"I'm sorry we haven't met before. The past few years were..."

"Complicated. It's a word you humans like to use a lot. Don't worry Shepard, Spectres know the truth. Death. Lazarus. Bahak. Reapers. Became a Spectre in 2185. A few weeks after you stopped the Collectors, actually."

"One Spectre to another, did the Council ever think-"

Ceeder smiled at the response "No way, they never planned for the reapers even after your reports to Councilor Anderson came through. One of my first jobs was escorting him back to Earth."

"Ceeder here replaced Vasir. Better he replaced her than you, as it turns out," Bau calmly pointed out as his omnitool beeped at synchronizing circuits to a new arm armor set.

"Vasir, I wish that could have gone differently."

"Only way to kill a Spectre is with another Spectre, so the legend goes," Bau cooly said, but smiled after a momentary pause, "good thing we're all on the same page though."

Ceeder nodded as he holstered his weapon, satisfied with his tinkering. "Yeah, after her death the Council was flooded with reports about what she was doing for the Shadow Broker."

"Almost like someone was preemptively defending your actions, Shepard."

"Vasir left a large trail of bodies in her wake on Illium, kind of hard to hide that even with Spectre authority." _Looks like I owe Liara another favor._

Looking to change the subject from his past altercation with his own kind, Shepard slowly removed the top portion of his armor as he took up a spot on the remaining available table. Without saying a word he looked at Bau's container of polish that sat on his bench. The older salarian nodded and handed the container over as he continued to mend a slight crack on one of his leg pieces.

"Different armor than what I've seen you in, Shepard."

"Emergency backup suit, my other two was damaged beyond repair." In slight frustration Shepard continued, "lost my favorite rifle too."

Bau and Vo were neutral about the armor, it was simply the name of the game sometimes. But that loss of a favorite rifle made their large alien eyes glimmer with their own recollections of losing a valuable inorganic ally.

"But a quick polish here and no one will be the wiser, right? Maybe I can order some of the armor before the ceremony..."

Shepard made his way to the requisition terminal, but a quick glance showed very little was in stock, and items that were had not yet adjusted to the postwar economy. He could only wonder how it was in other non-war goods.

"Sticker shock's a pain, even on a Spectre salary," Bau replied.

"What salary?" Vo mockingly replied as he started another cigarette. "The loss of colonies and planets hasn't yet connected with the war prices. When it does, look for some chaos."

"That's why they're making a big deal about this Council expansion, to show the galactic community is going to help everyone."

"If the various governments agree to it. The buck stops with them."

"Of course."

"Logical action would be to jointly colonize a new world, provide safer place for refugees to begin and start over."

"Logical? Might be seen as ignoring the needs of war survivors, helping large conglomerates profit on rebuilding."

Shepard just watched as the two salarians talked to each other, almost as though they were on another level of understanding the situation. All the Captain knew was that Earth was going to be in serious need of rebuilding, both in the physical and legislative areas. What this would mean in terms of assistance from the other species was hard to know. For his own mental state, Shepard made sure just to focus on the ceremony. That, and making sure the matte and muddied chestplate that rested in front of him reached a new level of shine. He simply began the slow, repetitive-yet-relaxing process of cleaning his armor among the bickering of his colleagues.

* * *

"This traffic is terrible, who knew there were this many skycars in the damn station," Miranda said in frustration as the automatic shuttle slowed down yet again as the red lights of the cab in front appeared for the umpteenth time.

"This can't all be for the Council, right? I mean, maybe it's all refugees or-"

"What are you two worried about? This is nothing compared to some of the traffic on Earth. I remember in Tokyo, that..." Kasumi's initial recollection of her time on Earth was immediately subdued when she realized that the city she grew up in would no longer exist as she remembered it.

"What was it like, Kasumi?" Oriana inquired.

"It was bad. But it had a certain organized chaos compared to here," looking to change the subject and keep her upbeat demeanor, she recalled another moment the three had shared, "we should have just stolen another shuttle."

Miranda took inspiration from the idea and disabled the autopilot feature. Taking control, she darted out of the designated lanes of traffic while Oriana held her hands in front of her face hoping it would provide some extra protection.

"At this pace if one of the back ways into the Lower Wards that hasn't been damaged I can get back to Silversun in ten minutes."

"Just because you share a bed with Shepard doesn't mean you should share driving habits!" Kasumi yelped as she tried to keep the various supplies and items purchased from leaving their bags in the back of the skycar.

"He was just showing off in the Hammerhead, this is real skill."

Oriana repeatedly tapped Miranda's arm in order to get her to slow down, but her older sister only took joy in the driver's some more. "You're a really sucky sister, you know that?"

Miranda's estimate became accurate as the skycab reverted to autopilot when it landed just outside Tiberius Towers. Silversun was its normal bustling self and the lack of Shepard drew little head turning from anyone not a part of C-Sec security detail.

Bags in tow, the three human women made their way to the apartment complex, for the first time running into faces Miranda had seen from before the war ended. A part of her never expected to see these individuals ever again, casualties of the war. But the fact that they remained cemented just how lucky the Citadel was compared to other planets.

The security that previously occupied the entrance to Shepard's apartment was now down to one lone soldier who appeared to have been pulled off another patrol. At first the soldier was reluctant to allow the women to pass, not sure how they knew of the exact location of Shepard's quarters. However, Miranda's scan at the door unlocked the entrance, allowing the three to gain access. Taking pity on the relatively young soldier Kasumi gently ran her finger across his chin as she entered.

"Kasumi."

"Oh come on, Miranda, I know you do that all the time."

"Not your paltry attempt at seduction, the apartment. Run a scan for bugs."

"Oh. Right." Slightly depressed that her actions were deemed paltry, Kasumi ran the checks from her omnitool in order to make sure that the alliance wasn't up to anything beneath the surface when it came to Shepard's privacy.

"Quick glance says everything's ok, let me check some more after I empty my arms."

"Fine, I'll be upstairs."

_No doubt trying on something from that boutique I saw you walk into_, Kasumi thought to herself with a wry grin...

Miranda made her way into her quarters, taking note to see if anything was out of place. To her surprise things looked the same as she remembered but would make a thorough check of the area after freeing her arms.

Placing the bags on her lover's side of the bed she slowly began to take Shepard's jacket off, but not before catching a whiff of something in the air. Ozone. That slightly electric smell would have been lost to anyone whose body didn't have advanced human senses.

Quickly Miranda turned around, aiming the Shuriken that previously sat in the inner pocket of the jacket at the entrance to the bedroom.

"Well done, Miss Lawson."

The near impeccable cloak disappeared, and in its place remained a male quarian, donned in his red and gold suit, hands held straight in the air showing no hostility.

"Kal'Reegar, this is an interesting turn of events."

"Indeed it is, ma'am. Do you mind if we could talk for a minute?"

* * *

The Blue Suns shuttle that had departed Lorek finally arrived near its designated location. Horizon was once one of the crown jewels in humanity's expansion, but over the past year it became nothing but a planet known for horrible abductions fromt eh Collectors and experimentation due to the machinations of Cerberus.

A mountain range that existed outside of the capital Discovery, a range that provided a natural barrier for the Northern edge of the city was where the shuttle finally arrived. Coordinates showed a location inside one of the mountain faces but the human pilot's signal was confirmed as a camouflaged hangar door opened up to provide passage.

The dark runway was illuminated with lights and little else against the cold metal, painting the location as a cold, sterile environment.

As the shuttle reached the end of the hangar it landed safely as it turned around to provide an easier departure. The two human mercenaries arrived into the hangar where they were greeted by three women clad in armor, their heels clicking as they walked ever closer to the open shuttle door.

Behind the gray helmets that obscured their faces a quizzical tilt of the head came from the lead woman before her deep voice arrived through the muffled armor, "I don't see Mr. Santiago here. It was stipulated in his contract that he was to personally deliver the package."

"Yeah, funny thing about that toots, is that Vido wanted to kill his old partner himself, so you have his lieutenant instead." Despite being unable to see the woman's face the young mercenary continued his blunt eyeing of her figure. But any of the women in front of him would do, they looked almost identical in height and proportion.

The other mercenary, while not as apparent in his ogling of the three, made his own glances as he placed the square container down at the first woman's feet.

"Everything's still there, just as you asked. Blood, saliva, skin tissue, even some hair. I thought all that was the same thing, but a job's a job."

His partner cut in, "I think you ladies would know something about jobs, am I right?"

The lewd comment phased none of the three, though it would be impossible to tell

behind their helmets. The woman to the right kneeled down and confirmed everything the mercenary said was in the box with a nod of her head.

"That concludes our business here, gentlemen. The remaining balance of funds will be delivered to the correct account."

_"About that, my dear,"_ A voice boomed over the intercom that echoed in the hangar. Immediately the two Blue Suns members looked up, trying to find the source of the eavesdropping voice.

The voice continued, _"It appears Mr. Santiago is no longer among the living. A shame in that. If only he followed his own contract."_

The lead mercenary held his hands up in protest. "Whoa, whoa, just because Vido is dead doesn't mean we don't get what's due to us," An activation of his omnitool appeared as he showed its contents to the women, "transfer it to this account, fat lot of good it will do Vido now."

_"You're changing the contract."_

"Who gives a shit about the contract, we did what you asked!" The mercenary was getting apprehensive about being out millions of credits.

A slight pause happened, with the armor clad women waiting for a response from the speakers above. Finally they received their answer. _"You did complete the job, very well, transfer the money."_

The lead woman nodded, knowing she was under surveillance and her own omnitool activated and the transfer began.

_"To apologize for my curt behavior, please, let my helpers make sure you are taken care of in the next room. Their skills are quite advantageous."_

"Yes." Two women slowly moved towards the two mercenaries as they stepped behind them, their leader holding her hand out to direct the two mercenaries to the room mentioned. Her sultry steps were something to watch and satiate their anticipation of what they thought was to come.

"I do like business with these isolated types," The lead merc rubbed his hands together as he rode the emotional high of now containing in his possession millions of credits that would instantly thrust him into retirement.

His partner, however, wanted to verify the agreement. "Hey, Luke, man, you know you're splitting that deposit with me, right? No way you get to-"

Quickly things changed as the merc's neck was snapped by one of the women walking behind him. It was a clean, strong break, showing no hesitation.

Luke turned to see his ally crumple to the floor and was about to reach for his pistol but the other woman's hand was centimeters away from his face. A quick charge of biotic energy radiated and quickly a phase disruptor was fired into the man's skull.

Like that it was over, the two lifeless bodies now occupied the pristine metal floor. One of the women opened up her omnitool as though nothing had just occurred.

"Account transfer has been reversed."

_"Good. Remember, my dears, always follow the contract."_

"Yes, father."

Two minutes later the three women entered a large room further inside the base. No longer were their heels the only sounds as large cylindrical tubes, nearly a dozen all told, hummed away as they fostered the life that grew inside them. Women, all of them identical, with raven black hair and bodies that showed the most desirable qualities of humanity unconsciously sat in the vats of green liquid while their body scans displayed on the screens in front, various robotic arms providing necessary injections as needed to maintain optimum levels.

The three women passed these tubes completely oblivious to the humans inside and arrived in front of a large table that had various processes running on displayed screens. Behind this table sat various vials filled with a familiar blue serum. Some were different colors of blue but all seemed to be from the same family.

"Father, here is the package."

An older man with graying black hair and tired, determined eyes turned to face the three phantoms, his legs braced with an extensive exoskeleton frame that allowed his body the freedom it might not have had otherwise after some rather debilitating injury. A smile arrived on his face as he waved for two other identical women who had been assisting him to begin their process of breaking down the genetic samples provided at another table.

"Fresh, current samples, excellent. My dears, we're on the precipice of a true legacy."

**Who's this guy? It's kind of a layup. I'm going to do some more downtime chapters before moving into the final part of this story, so stick around.**


End file.
